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Court rejected Russian oligarch’s challenge to US efforts to confiscate superyacht

A federal court in New York has rejected the Russian businessman Eduard Khudainatov's challenge to the U.S. government's efforts to confiscate the 'Amadea'. The decision brings the United States closer to taking ownership of the yacht through a legal procedure known as civil forfeiture. The ruling likely represents the biggest victory so far in plans started under former President Joe Biden’s administration to seize assets of sanctioned Russian tycoons and use them to support Ukraine’s war effort. On March 10, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that the Russian businessman did not have standing to challenge forfeiture of the yacht because he was not its owner. And because no one else has claimed ownership, the U.S. Department of Justice will now pursue a judgment of forfeiture by default. U.S. prosecutors believe the superyacht that is valued at over $230 million, belongs to Kerimov, a senator, businessman and ally of Vladimir Putin. The court also concluded in legal documents that the evidence suggests that after September 2021, Kerimov or his family exercised ownership of the vessel. In 2018, the U.S. government imposed sanctions on Kerimov. The government later alleged he or people acting on his behalf made payments for repairs and upkeep of the yacht that passed through the U.S financial system, which is a violation of those sanctions. The U.S. law enforcement seized the 'Amadea' in 2022. But in 2023, Khudainatov, who is not under U.S. sanctions, claimed ownership interest, setting the stage for a legal battle. In May 2024, U.S. taxpayers have spent more than $740,000 a month on the yacht’s maintenance. Last December, The Washington Post reported that servicing the yacht had cost the country roughly $30 million.

U.S. prosecutors argue that the Amadea is owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Kerimov

The U.S. government has argued in an evidentiary hearing in New York that the sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov was the owner of the 'Amadea', making it subject to forfeiture. The federal prosecutors stated last week that the yacht is owned and controlled by the Russian billionaire and that his use and improvements of the vessel violated the sanctions that were imposed on him in 2018 by the U.S. Treasury Department, in consultation with the Department of State. It had imposed sanctions on seven Russian oligarchs, 12 companies they owned or controlled, 17 senior Russian government officials, a state-owned Russian weapons trading company and its subsidiary and a Russian bank. Suleiman Kerimov was included in these sanctions for his role as an official of the Russian Federation and a member of the Russian Federation Council. He was alleged to have moved hundreds of millions of euros into France, in addition to conducting standard fund transfers without disclosing the money to French tax authorities. In 2023, Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and Michael Khoo and David Lim, Co-Directors of Task Force KleptoCapture, announced the filing of a civil forfeiture complaint against the 'Amadea'. It was alleged that Suleiman Kerimov had improved and maintained the yacht in violation to the sanctions imposed on him. The complaint alleged that the 'Amadea' was therefore forfeitable, based on violations of U.S. law, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) and money laundering violations. Despite the allegations against Kerimov, another Russian businessman, Eduard Khudainatov, claimed ownership of the 'Amadea' and was seeking to reclaim it. While Khudainatov is not under U.S. sanctions, he was blacklisted by the European Union in June 2022. At the closing arguments of an evidentiary hearing in New York, the prosecutors asserted that Khudainatov had sold the yacht to Kerimov in Sept 2021, while retaining the title to act as its straw owner. In contrast, Khudainatov's legal team insisted the yacht was never sold and argued that simply the holding title was sufficient to establish standing in the case. On Feb 5 the U.S. Justice Department announced that it was shutting down Task Force KleptoCapture, a key initiative launched in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine to enforce sanctions and seize the assets of oligarchs close to the Kremlin. Adam Ford, a lawyer for Khudainatov, criticised the dissolution of the task force, asserting that closing arguments further reinforced Khudainatov’s claim to ownership. The Task Force KleptoCapture was instrumental in prosecuting Russian oligarchs and seizing their assets as part of a wider strategy to isolate Moscow from global financial markets. Since its inception, the task force led to the seizure of yachts belonging to sanctioned oligarchs, including Suleiman Kerimov and Viktor Vekselberg. While ongoing cases initiated by the task force will continue, its dissolution means the work will no longer be coordinated from Justice Department headquarters.

Court to decide about ownership of conficated yacht

The USA are going to court to prove that sanctioned billionaire Suleiman Kerimov is the real owner of the 'Amadea'. The yacht, which costs US taxpayers almost $750,000 a month to maintain and insure, is being held in custody in San Diego while the legal proceedings are ongoing. The legal battle stems from the work of the Justice Department's KleptoCapture task force, which targets assets including yachts, planes, and luxury real estate of wealthy Russians who have been sanctioned over the invasion of Ukraine. The US, UK, and EU have imposed sanctions on oligarchs and others accused of helping the Kremlin. The United States claims that Amadea is owned by Kerimov, the 17th richest man in Russia, with a net worth of about $9.3 billion. But Eduard Khudainatov, the former head of Russia's oil producer Rosneft, claims he is the real owner. Lawyers for Khudainatov and his Millemarin Investments claimed that he spent $232 million to build the yacht and that it has belonged to him all along. The Ministry of Justice argues that Khudainatov is only a fake owner designed to conceal Kerimov's ownership of the yacht and has no legal grounds to complain about what is happening to it. The US District Judge Dale Ho is holding a hearing this week on the Khudainatov case and the question of who owns the yacht. In the government's opening statement, Justice Department lawyer Rachel Dowd told that the evidence would show that Khudainatov ordered the 'Amadea' and then sold it in 2021 to Kerimov through intermediaries, after which the Kerimov family used the yacht exclusively. The crew recognized the Kerimovs as the owners and the family had plans to refit the vessel. If the United States fails to confiscate the yacht, the cost of its maintenance will be lost. So far, the government has not been able to get court approval to sell the ship and avoid financial risk. Adding the $5.6 million in dry-dock repairs that the US planned to carry out last year, the total cost to taxpayers was about $20 million, according to a US statement in 2024, and is now closer to $30 million. The costs represent only a small fraction of its value and are not unusual for such a yacht. When the 'Amadea' was arrested, the US estimated its value at $300 million or more. An independent appraiser estimated its fair market value at $230 million.