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Superyacht seized by U.S. from Russian billionaire arrives in San Diego Bay

June 27, 2022 / 3:40 PM EDT / CBS/AP

A $325 million superyacht seized by the United States from a sanctioned Russian oligarch arrived in San Diego Bay on Monday.

The 348-foot-long (106-meter-long) Amadea flew an American flag as it sailed past the retired aircraft carrier USS Midway and under the Coronado Bridge.

"After a transpacific journey of over 5,000 miles (8,047 kilometers), the Amadea has safely docked in a port within the United States, and will remain in the custody of the U.S. government, pending its anticipated forfeiture and sale," the Department of Justice said in a statement.

The FBI linked the Amadea to the Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, and the vessel became a target of Task Force KleptoCapture, launched in March to seize the assets of Russian oligarchs to put pressure on Russia to end the war in Ukraine. The U.S. said Kerimov secretly bought the vessel last year through various shell companies.

But Justice Department  officials had been stymied  by a legal effort to contest the American seizure warrant and by a yacht crew that refused to sail for the U.S. American officials won a legal battle in Fiji to take the Cayman Islands-flagged superyacht earlier this month. 

The Amadea made a stop in Honolulu Harbor en route to the U.S. mainland. The Amadea boasts  luxury features  such as a helipad, mosaic-tiled pool, lobster tank and a pizza oven, nestled in a décor of "delicate marble and stones" and "precious woods and delicate silk fabrics," according to court documents.

"The successful seizure and transport of Amadea would not have been possible without extraordinary cooperation from our foreign partners in the global effort to enforce U.S. sanctions imposed in response to Russia's unprovoked and unjustified war in Ukraine," the Justice Department said.

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Russian Oligarch's Seized Yacht Sails into San Diego Harbor

The yacht amadea, which boasts a helipad and swimming pool, was seized earlier this month in fiji., by eric s. page and mari payton • published june 27, 2022 • updated on june 27, 2022 at 6:48 pm.

A $325 million 350-foot yacht owned by a sanctioned "beneficiary of Russian corruption" was put into port in San Diego Monday, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Officials with the DOJ said the Amadea, which was seized in connection to the department's KleptoCapture campaign undertaken in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, is owned by Suleiman Kerimov a Russian billionaire.

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The yacht, which boasts a helipad and swimming pool, was seized earlier this month in Fiji.

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“Last month, I warned that the department had its eyes on every yacht purchased with dirty money,” Deputy U.S. Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco said in May. “This yacht seizure should tell every corrupt Russian oligarch that they cannot hide – not even in the remotest part of the world. We will use every means of enforcing the sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war in Ukraine.”

According to CNBC , Kerimov "was sanctioned by the Treasury Department in 2018 for allegedly profiting from the Russian government through corruption and its illegal annexation of Crimea in Ukraine in 2014."

The Amadea sailed under the Coronado Bridge at around 8 a.m. on Monday before heading into a berth on the San Diego waterfront.

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“ After a transpacific journey of over 5,000 miles, the Amadea has safely docked in a port within the United States, and will remain in the custody of the U.S. government, pending its anticipated forfeiture and sale," read a statement, in part, released Monday by the DOJ.

The U.S. said Kerimov secretly bought the vessel last year through various shell companies.

The U.S. won a legal battle in Fiji to take the Cayman Islands-flagged superyacht earlier this month. The Amadea made a stop in Honolulu Harbor en route to the U.S. mainland.

After the yacht arrived in San Diego, John Kirby, a former federal prosecutor, told NBC 7 that he thinks the U.S. government hopes moves like the Amadea's seizure are efforts to apply pressure to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Incredibly, the owners of assets like the Amadea may just walk away rather than fight ther seizure.

"A lot of times people that own these objects … they don’t want to get involved," Kirby said. "For whatever reason, they don’t want people digging around in their life. And so sometimes they just let it go," adding that such seizures are "easy a lot of times because you often have bad actors that don’t want to come forward and don’t want to claim the yacht, don’t want to litigate about it, so it could go into default judgment."

The Associated Press contributed to this report — Ed.

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Superyacht feds say was seized from Russian oligarch sails into San Diego

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A $300-million superyacht the U.S. seized from an alleged Russian oligarch in Fiji last month sailed into San Diego Bay on Monday morning.

Known as the Amadea, it is 348 feet long and features a helipad and swimming pool. The Department of Justice says it was owned by Suleiman Kerimov, a gold investor Forbes says is worth $14.5 billion .

It’s not clear how long the seized boat will stay in San Diego. Justice officials said the plan is to eventually sell it off.

“The successful seizure and transport of Amadea would not have been possible without extraordinary cooperation from our foreign partners in the global effort to enforce U.S. sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war in Ukraine,” the Department of Justice said in a statement Monday.

The U.S. sanctioned Kerimov, who was accused of money laundering related to the purchase of French villas, in 2018. The European Union sanctioned him in March 2022, the Associated Press reported.

That same month, the Department of Justice created Task Force KleptoCapture to enforce the sanctions the U.S. and its foreign allies imposed after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Two months later, on May 5, the Department of Justice announced it had seized the Amadea in Fiji. “Today’s action should make clear that there is no hiding place for the assets of individuals who violate U.S. law,” Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland said that day.

After winning a court battle in Fiji — there was a dispute over the yacht’s actual owner — the U.S. sailed the ship from the South Pacific island on June 7 .

The superyacht stopped in Hawaii last week before heading into San Diego, sailing under the San Diego-Coronado Bridge on its way to its berth Monday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Teri Figueroa covers courts, crime and breaking news for The San Diego Union-Tribune. A native Californian, she joined the North County Times in 2002, and the U-T in 2012. Figueroa reported on the 2003 and 2007 wildfires, and covered the criminal cases against Richard Tuite and John Gardner III, as well as war crimes cases. A San Diego State University graduate, Figueroa has won multiple journalism awards for her work.

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News | Superyacht feds say was seized from Russian…

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News | Superyacht feds say was seized from Russian oligarch sails into San Diego

The u.s. took control of the 348-foot boat in fiji on may 5.

The San Diego Union-Tribune

SAN DIEGO, CA - JUNE 27: A Navy boat speeds by the $300 million dollar, 348-foot luxury yacht Amadea, belonging to Suleiman Kerimov, a sanctioned Oligarch and beneficiary of Russian corruption as it sailed into San Diego Bay on Monday, June 27, 2022 in San Diego, CA. The United States announced the seizure in Fiji of the ship in May. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

SAN DIEGO, CA - JUNE 27: The $300 million dollar, 348-foot luxury yacht Amadea, belonging to Suleiman Kerimov, a sanctioned Oligarch and beneficiary of Russian corruption sailed into San Diego Bay on Monday, June 27, 2022 in San Diego, CA. The United States announced the seizure in Fiji of the ship in May. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Known as the Amadea, it is 348-feet long, and features a helipad and a swimming pool. The U.S. Department of Justice says it was owned by Suleiman Kerimov, a gold investor Forbes says is worth $14.5 billion .

It’s not clear how long the seized boat will stay in San Diego. Justice Department officials said the plan is to eventually sell it off.

“The successful seizure and transport of Amadea would not have been possible without extraordinary cooperation from our foreign partners in the global effort to enforce U.S. sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war in Ukraine,” the Department of Justice said in a statement Monday.

The U.S. sanctioned Kerimov in 2018, who was accused of money laundering related to the purchase of French villas. The European Union sanctioned him in March 2022, the Associated Press reported.

That same month, the Department of Justice created Task Force KleptoCapture to enforce the sanctions the U.S. and its foreign allies imposed after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Two months later, on May 5, the Department of Justice announced it had seized the Amadea in Fiji. “Today’s action should make clear that there is no hiding place for the assets of individuals who violate U.S. law,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said that day.

After winning a court battle in Fiji — there was a dispute over the yacht’s actual owner — the U.S. sailed the ship from the South Pacific island on June 7 .

The superyacht stopped in Hawaii last week before heading into San Diego, sailing under the San-Diego-Coronado Bridge on its way to its berth Monday.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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Times of San Diego

Local News and Opinion for San Diego

Feds Want to Auction Russian Oligarch’s Seized Yacht Docked in San Diego

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The U.S. government said it is spending more than $7 million a year to maintain a superyacht docked in San Diego that it seized from a sanctioned Russian oligarch, and urged a judge to let it auction the vessel before a dispute over its ownership is resolved.

Authorities in Fiji seized the 348-foot, $300 million Amadea in May 2022, pursuant to a U.S. warrant alleging it was owned by Suleiman Kerimov, a multibillionaire sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2014 and 2018 in response to Russia’s activities in Syria and Ukraine.

Efforts to auction the yacht are being challenged by Eduard Khudainatov, who led Russian state oil and gas company Rosneft from 2010 to 2013.

Khudainatov claims ownership of the Amadea, and has said it cannot not be forfeited because he has not been sanctioned.

In a court filing late on Friday, federal prosecutors in Manhattan told U.S. District Judge Dale Ho that the $600,000 average monthly maintenance bill for the Amadea has been “excessive,” justifying an auction. They also said talks to have Khudainatov pay for the yacht’s upkeep have broken down.

Prosecutors have said in previous court filings that Khudainatov is acting as the Amadea’s “straw owner” to disguise Kerimov’s role, and that maintenance payments are essential to preserving a yacht’s value.

Khudainatov has until Feb. 23 to reply to prosecutors’ request. In a statement, his lawyers said the motion to sell the vessel was “premature” and urged Ho to deny it until he “determines whether the seizure was unconstitutional.”

The seizure came as Washington ramped up sanctions enforcement against people close to Russian President Vladimir Putin to pressure Moscow to halt its war against Ukraine.

If the U.S. government succeeded in auctioning the yacht, it would likely eventually transfer sale proceeds to Ukraine.

Prosecutors have said Kerimov violated U.S. sanctions by making more than $1 million in maintenance payments for the Amadea through the U.S. financial system, making the vessel subject to forfeiture.

Kerimov and his family are worth $10.7 billion, according to Forbes magazine. He amassed his fortune through Russian gold miner Polyus, though he is no longer a shareholder.

Russian luxury yacht seized by US arrives in San Diego

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – A $300 million luxury yacht owned by a sectioned Russian oligarch was seized by the United States in Fiji and arrived at NAS North Island on Monday.

The Amadea was owned by Suleiman Kerimov, a sanctioned Oligarch and beneficiary of Russian corruption.

The yacht was a target of the Task Force KleptoCaptureto seize the assets of Russian Oligarchs to place pressure on Russia to end the war in Ukraine, according to the Associated Press.

“After a transpacific journey of over 5,000 miles, the Amadea has safely docked in a port within the United States, and will remain in the custody of the U.S. government, pending its anticipated forfeiture and sale,” the Department of Justice said in a statement.

"The successful seizure and transport of Amadea would not have been possible without extraordinary cooperation from our foreign partners in the global effort to enforce U.S. sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war in Ukraine. We hope to make additional footage of the Amadea available at a later date,” the Justice Department said.

After the Amadea's arrival in San Diego, ABC 10News spoke with author and former CIA Officer Alex Finley, who has written extensively about Russian oligarchs and their penchant for lavish yachts. “They are allowed to loot and steal from Russia as long as they support Putin," Finley said. "And one of the things that they love to spend their money on is yachts.”

Finley says their is competition among the billionaire business moguls that run Russian industry under Putin. That has led to an arms race, so to speak, to build bigger, more luxurious, more tech-savvy yachts. But Finley also says recently unveiled evidence indicates that the yachts are more than just a status symbol. “It looks like there’s some sort of infrastructure around these yachts and services for the yachts that, perhaps, is helping launder some of the money.” Finley says documents released when Amadea was seized included mentioning money laundering as a key reason why the yacht was targeted.

Finley, who has written a series of spy novels since leaving the CIA, says after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a community of amateur sleuths began using crowdsourcing and public navigation tracking apps to try to identify yachts owned by Russian oligarchs, who were, at the same time, trying to move them away from ports where they could be seized. The group rallied around the hashtag #YachtWatch.

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