Fiji seizes $300 mln yacht of Russian oligarch on U.S. request

Record ID: 1671625

  • Title: Fiji seizes $300 mln yacht of Russian oligarch on U.S. request
  • Date: 6th May 2022
  • Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (MAY 5, 2022) (REUTERS) WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY JEN PSAKI WALKING TO LECTERN WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY, JEN PSAKI, SAYING: "Today, the Department of Justice announced that the Fujian law enforcement executed a seizure warrant freezing the motor yacht 'Amadea' a 348-foot luxury vessel owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov. The yacht is worth approximately $300 million dollars or more. This was done with support and assistance from the FBI, and Fiji acted at the request of the Department of Justice following issuance issuance of a seizure warrant from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Fijian authorities executed the request, obtaining a domestic seizure warrant from a Fijian court. As you know, the president has made clear we will go after Russian oligarchs and their ill gotten gains using every authority we have to hold them accountable. Oh, and here is the yacht. Look at that. I want to really go with a bang, so we got a yacht -- just to make the point about oligarchs."
  • Embargoed: 20th May 2022 01:14
  • Keywords: Amadea Fiji Psaki Russian oligarchs sanction seizure warrant yacht
  • Location: VARIOUS
  • City: VARIOUS
  • Country: Various
  • Topics: Crime/Law/Justice
  • Reuters ID: LVA003611005052022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Authorities in Fiji have seized a $300 million yacht of Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov at the request of the United States, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday (May 5), as Washington and its allies press Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
    A Fiji court had ruled on Tuesday that the United States can seize a Russian-owned superyacht, weeks after it arrived and was impounded by police.
    Authorities in various countries have seized luxury vessels and villas owned by Russian billionaires in response to sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, which Russia calls a special military operation.
    Kerimov was sanctioned by the United States in 2014 and 2018 in response to Russia's actions in Syria and Ukraine. He has also been sanctioned by the European Union.
    The U.S. Justice Department's Taskforce KleptoCapture has focused on seizing yachts and other luxury assets to put the finances of Russian oligarchs under strain in a bid to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine.
    The luxury vessel, the Amadea, arrived in Fiji last month after an 18-day voyage across the Pacific from Mexico.
    The U.S. Treasury Department's office of foreign assets control designated Kerimov as part of a group of Russian oligarchs who profit from the Russian government through corruption and its activities around the globe, including the occupation of Crimea.
    (Production: David Hotchin, Gavino Garay)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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