The 106m long and 18m high super luxury motor yacht Amadea, one of the largest yachts in the world, is anchored at the pier in Pasatarlasi for bunkering with 9 fuel trucks, on February 18, 2020 in Bodrum district in Mugla province in Turkey .
Anatolian Agency Getty Images
Fiji authorities have seized a $ 300 million superyacht owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, the justice ministry said on Thursday.
The move to confiscate the nearly 350-foot Amadea motor yacht in Lautoka, Fiji, comes as Western governments step up efforts to track, identify and seize assets around the world belonging to sanctioned Kremlin-linked Russians.
In March, the Biden administration announced a new task force called KleptoCapture to impose broad sanctions on the United States and allies imposed on Russian elites who helped fund President Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked war in Ukraine.
“Last month, I warned that the department was monitoring every yacht purchased with dirty money,” Deputy Prosecutor General Lisa Monaco said in a statement. “This seizure of yachts must tell every corrupt Russian oligarch that he cannot hide even in the most remote parts of the world. We will use all means to enforce the sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war in Ukraine. “
The Foreign Assets Control Service of the Ministry of Finance or OFAC sanctioned Kerimov in 2018. Then the Ministry of Finance said that Kerimov is an oligarch who benefits from the Russian government through corruption and its illegal annexation of Crimea. It adds that the Russian billionaire was also an employee of the Russian government.
The Ministry of Justice estimates that Kerimov’s yacht is worth $ 300 million or more. It is reported that the motor yacht under the flag of Cayman has an interior design that can accommodate up to 16 guests in 8 cabins and is equipped with a helipad.
Last month, German authorities said they had captured the world’s largest superyacht after officially confirming that the ship had ties to Russian billionaire and business tycoon Alisher Usmanov.
A German official confirmed to CNBC on April 14 that the motor yacht was connected to Usmanov and therefore subject to seizure. Germany’s federal police briefed European authorities in Brussels on Wednesday that a thorough investigation had established that the ship was owned by Usmanov’s sister, Gulbahor Ismailova.
A photo from September 10, 2018 shows a mega yacht named “Dilbar” belonging to Uzbek-born Russian business tycoon Alisher Usmanov while refueling from a tanker in Mugla, Turkey. Germany has detained the yacht of Russian billionaire Usmanov in the port of Hamburg.
Sabri Kesen Anatolian Agency Getty Images
German authorities initially restricted the stunning superyacht from leaving its anchor on March 3, according to a senior Biden administration official familiar with the matter.
The yacht, named Dilbar by Usmanov’s mother, stretches over 500 feet and is equipped with two helicopter pads and the largest indoor swimming pool ever installed on a private vessel. The finance ministry estimates that Usmanov’s yacht costs approximately $ 735 million.
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