US spends budget to maintain Russian tycoon's yacht

Authorities in Fiji seized the 106-meter, $300 million Amadea yacht in May 2022 at the request of the United States. Washington said the yacht was owned by Suleiman Kerimov, a Russian billionaire who was blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury in 2014 and 2018 in response to Russia's activities in Syria and Ukraine, according to Reuters.

But efforts to auction the yacht have been thwarted as Eduard Khudainatov, who headed Russian state oil company Rosneft from 2010 to 2013, has claimed he owns the Amadea and the US cannot seize it because he is not sanctioned by Washington.

Superyacht Amadea in Hawaii (USA) in June 2022

In court papers filed last week, federal prosecutors in Manhattan told U.S. District Judge Dale Ho that the average monthly maintenance costs for Amadea were $600,000 and that the cost was “excessive,” making it necessary to auction the yacht. They also said negotiations to get Khudainatov to pay for the yacht’s maintenance had failed.

In previous court filings, prosecutors said Mr Khudainatov acted as the “fictitious owner” of Amadea to conceal Mr Kerimov’s role and that the maintenance spending was necessary to preserve the yacht’s value.

Mr Khudainatov has until February 23 to respond to the prosecutors’ request. In a statement, his lawyers said the request to sell the yacht was “premature” and urged Judge Dale Ho to deny it until he “determines whether the seizure is unconstitutional”.

The incident comes as Washington steps up sanctions against people close to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a bid to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.

Europe seizes Russian tycoon's superyachts worth over $2 billion

If the US government succeeds in auctioning off the Amadea, it could end up transferring the proceeds to Ukraine.

Prosecutors allege that billionaire Kerimov violated US sanctions by paying more than $1 million in maintenance for the Amadea yacht through the US financial system, making the ship, currently anchored in San Diego (California, USA), subject to seizure.

According to Forbes magazine, Mr. Kerimov and his family have a fortune of $10.7 billion. He amassed his fortune through the gold mining company Polyus, although he is no longer a shareholder.

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