A court in New York has refused to sell the Amadea yacht to the US government, which claims the vessel belongs to businessman Suleiman Kerimov, as reported by Meduza. This decision was made as part of a larger trial regarding the confiscation of the yacht. Government lawyers had requested to sell the ship, which is currently under arrest, due to the high cost of maintenance, which amounts to $740,000 a month and is being paid by taxpayers.
The judge emphasized that in cases like this, the primary consideration should not be the nominal amount of the costs, but how excessive they are in relation to the standard costs of maintaining similar yachts. The 106-meter yacht Amadea, valued at $325 million, was seized in Fiji in April 2022 at the request of the United States following sanctions imposed after the war in Ukraine. The US believes that its owner is Suleiman Kerimov, who is under sanctions for violating the sanctions regime, and they aim to confiscate the ship and transfer the proceeds to Ukraine.
Documents show that the registered owner of the yacht is former Rosneft head Eduard Khudainatov, who is not under sanctions, with US authorities considering him a figurehead. Kerimov denies any connection to the yacht.