U.S. authorities have seized a megayacht from a Russian oligarch that is costing the government nearly $1 million a month to maintain, according to new court documents.
The U.S. Justice Department is seeking permission to sell a 348-foot yacht called Amadea that it seized in 2022, claiming it is owned by sanctioned Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov . The government said it wanted to sell the $230 million yacht due to “excessive costs” of maintenance and crewing, which it said could total $922,000 a month.
“Taxpayers paying nearly $1 million a month to maintain Amadea are exorbitant because those costs could be reduced to zero through the sale,” a court filing by U.S. prosecutors on Friday said.
The Amadea is currently docked in San Diego, California, and monthly fees include $600,000 in monthly operating costs: $360,000 for crew; $75,000 for fuel; and $165,000 for maintenance, waste removal, food and other expenses. It also includes $144,000 in monthly prorated insurance and special charges, including $178,000 for dry docking, bringing the total to $922,000, documents show.
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The Amadea dispute and the cost to the government underscore the financial and legal challenges of seizing and selling assets owned by Russian oligarchs after Russia invaded Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said last week that the EU should use profits from more than $200 billion in frozen Russian assets to fund the war effort in Ukraine.
Her comments echoed calls made by the government in the spring of 2022 to freeze the yachts, private jets and mansions of Russian billionaires, hoping to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin and raise funds for the war.
Nearly two years later, however, the legal process of proving ownership of the Russian assets and selling them has proven more time-consuming and costly. In London, Russian billionaire Eugene Shvidler launched a court battle over his seized private jet, while Sergei Naumenko has been fighting over the seizure of his superyacht Phi. Appeal against the seizure.
The megayacht Amadea, owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, was seized by the Fiji government at the request of the United States and arrived at the port of Honolulu, Hawaii on June 16, 2022.
Eugene Tanner | AFP | Getty Images
Court documents show the battle over the Amadea began in April 2022, when the ship was seized in Fiji at the request of the U.S. government.
Although the United States claims the yacht is owned by Klimov, who made his fortune in mining, lawyers for Eduard Khudainatov, the former Rosneft chief executive who has not yet been sanctioned, said he owns the vessel yacht and attempted to reclaim ownership of the yacht. Blood vessel.
In court documents, Khudanatov’s lawyers objected to the U.S. government’s efforts to sell the yacht, saying a hasty sale would likely result in a depressed sale price and that maintenance costs would be minimal relative to the potential sale value.
Khudanatov’s lawyers have refused to pay ongoing maintenance costs as long as the government seeks sale and confiscation. However, they said that if the yacht is returned to its true owner, their client will reimburse the U.S. government for the more than $20 million that has been spent on maintenance.
The government said in court documents that Kerimov concealed his ownership of Amadea through a series of shell companies and other owners. They said emails between crew members showed Klimov “is the beneficial owner of the yacht regardless of who owns the vessel.”
The emails show that Klimov and his family ordered several interior improvements to the yacht, including a new pizza oven and spa, and that while the ship was impounded in 2021-2022, “all guests on the Amadea None of the trips included Kerimov or members of his family,” according to court documents.
The government also said that Kerimov had been trying to sell Amadea for years, so the sale was consistent with his intentions.
“In this case, the court will not order the sale of a valuable family heirloom that the plaintiffs are eager to retain for sentimental reasons,” the government said in the filing.
Even if Amadea is sold soon, the proceeds won’t automatically go to the government. By law, the money will be retained while Khudanatov and the government continue to fight in court over ownership and confiscation issues.
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