WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th May, 2022) Authorities in Fiji seized the $300 million yacht belonging to Russian businessman Suleiman Kerimov at the request of the US government, the Justice Department said on Thursday.
"Fijian law enforcement, with the support and assistance of the FBI, acted pursuant to a mutual legal assistance request from the US Department of Justice following issuance of a seizure warrant from the US District Court for the District of Columbia, which found that the Amadea is subject to forfeiture based on probable cause of violations of US law, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), money laundering and conspiracy," the Justice Department said in a press release.
The United States, according to the release, sought Kerimov's 348-foot yacht because he allegedly acquired it after he was designated by the US government and routed money through the US financial system to support and maintain it, which violates US law under his designation.
The seizure was coordinated by the Justice Department's Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force working with international partners to enforce sanctions imposed in response to Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, the release said.
The yacht is currently in Lautoka, Fiji, and the case is being investigated by the FBI and State Department, the release said.
On February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk requested help in defending themselves from intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops. Russia has said that the aim of the special operation is to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine and that it is targeting the country's military infrastructure only.
