Fiji High Court Delays US Seizure of Superyacht Allegedly Owned by Sanctioned Russian Billionaire

Fiji's Supreme Court delayed a U.S. bid to seize a $325 million superyacht allegedly belonging to a sanctioned Russian billionaire, granting the yacht's registered owner, Millemarin Investments, a temporary stay on a previous ruling that would have allowed the U.S. to seize the ship this week, according to documents from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Bloomberg reported June 2.

The U.S. says the superyacht belongs to Suleiman Kerimov. Millemarin lost an initial appeal May 27, after the Court of Appeal tossed the case over the registration of the U.S. warrant to seize the yacht, called Amadea. Millemarin filed a second appeal that the Supreme Court is expected to decide June 7, when the stay will expire, Bloomberg reported. The stay stops the ship from leaving Fiji's waters, where it's been since mid-April after traveling from Anguilla in the Caribbean.

The second appeal concerns the Amadea's true ownership. Millemarin says that the vessel is actually owned by another Russian businessman, Eduard Khudainatov, former chairman and CEO of Russian oil giant Rosneft Oil. Khudainatov isn't currently sanctioned by the U.S. or any other party. The U.S. says Khudainatov is being used as a "clean" owner of the yacht to free it, Bloomberg said.