A yacht belonging to a Russian billionaire that was seized by the US under the pretext of sanctions enforcement in May 2022 is costing the US $7 million per year to maintain.
According to Reuters, the US seized the $300 million Amadea in Fiji under a warrant alleging it was owned by Suleiman Kerimov, a Russian billionaire who was sanctioned by the US in 2014 and 2018.
The US wants to auction off the Amadea and give the money to Ukraine, but that is being challenged in court by Eduard Khudainatov, the former CEO of Russia’s state-owned oil company Rosneft, who is not under US sanctions.
Khudainatov says the yacht is actually his, and the US is accusing him of acting as a “straw owner” to cover for Kerimov. In October 2023, Khudainatov filed federal court papers in San Diego, where the Amadea is currently docked, asserting he owned the yacht and saying it couldn’t be sold off since he’s not under US sanctions.
The Reuters report said that US federal prosecutors said in a court filing issued on Friday that the $600,000 bill the US is paying to maintain the Amadea is “excessive” and justifies an auction. Lawyers for Khudainatov said the US attempt to sell the yacht was “premature” and that they would urge the judge presiding over the case to deny it until he “determines whether the seizure was unconstitutional.”
The US attempt to sell the yacht is part of its strategy to steal Russian assets to give more money to the Ukrainian government. So far, the Department of Justice has facilitated the transfer of about $5.4 million in assets seized from Russian billionaires to Ukraine.
The big prize for the US and Ukraine is the $300 billion in Russian central bank funds that were frozen by the US and its allies in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The White House recently threw its support behind a plan to give money to Ukraine to pay for the proxy war, but the US needs the EU’s backing for the idea, and it’s unclear if that will happen.
An archetypical first-world problem. Well-deserved by all facing it.
… and love the irony on hyper-litigous US. Tie it up in the courts and make Biden pay marina, drydock, and maintenance all the while.
That was an illegal taking by the U.S. It was in violation of the 4th Amendment to the Constitution.
Indeed – it’s also accelerating the pace of De-Dollarization.
But even more illegal was the invasion and annexation of Ukraine which you support.
Hypocrite.
You are deceived and mistaken, get educated. 🙂
I’ll think about it, dipsh!t.
Thank you, I will appreciate your effort. 🙂
Tell that to the police that took my car for a 20 dollar bag of fake cocaine.
Didn’t EU decide to take the interest of the assets instead of the cash itself…?!
Wow, the DC GHOULS really want a war with Russia! I wonder what they will say or maybe where they will run to when a dozen USA cities are gone, up in smoke?? Will they dare face their, constituents?
Joey Biden has an excuse. He is a stupid individual who in his senile state has become unaware of his surroundings.
The remaining portion of the US government diverse people are just plain low IQ retards.
This is why BRICS Members are growing. Why would any Government do business in American Dollars or keep American Dollars, when the USA feels entitled to confiscate the money whenever they want to?
Crooks? In Washington? Perish the very thought!
I am sure Vlad the Impaler is ROFLHAO He wants the oligarchs gone illegal or not.