The US spends millions annually to maintain the seized Russian oligarch's yacht.

The US government spends over $7 million per year to maintain a superyacht seized from a sanctioned Russian oligarch. Authorities in Fiji seized the $300 million yacht, the Amadea, in May 2022 based on a US warrant which alleged that it was owned by Suleiman Kerimov, a multi-billionaire sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in 2014 and 2018 due to Russia's involvement in Syria and Ukraine. Efforts to auction the Amadea are being challenged by Eduard Khudainatov, a former executive of Russian state oil and gas company Rosneft, who claims ownership of the yacht. Khudainatov's ownership claim hinges on the fact that he has not been personally sanctioned. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are urging a judge to let them auction the vessel before the ownership dispute is resolved.

February 12, 2024
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