A COMPANY registered as the owner of a Russia-linked superyacht has applied to prevent Fiji from seizing it under a US warrant, pending an appeal against the move. 

A High Court judge in Fiji’s capital Suva had granted an order on Tuesday for the seizure of the Amadea, which is reportedly owned by a sanctioned Russian oligarch.

The US warrant for its seizure was filed with the High Court last month.

The Amadea, with an estimated value of more than US$300 million (RM1.3 billion), has been berthed at Lautoka in western Fiji since mid-April.

It has been linked in some reports to Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, a target of US and European Union sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Following yesterday’s High Court ruling, lawyers for the superyacht’s registered owners Millemarin Investment applied for an interim stay of execution of the court’s orders pending an appeal.

Fiji’s director of public prosecutions said in a statement today that the High Court had given it until tomorrow to respond to the company’s application, with a court ruling due by Friday.

The 107m Amadea is worth US$325 million and boasts a pool, jacuzzi, helipad, and “winter garden” on the sun deck, according to the website superyachtfan.com, which tracks the vessels of the rich.

Various yacht-tracking sites list Kerimov as the owner, but this could not be independently confirmed. – AFP, May 4, 2022.