NATIONAL CITY, Calif. — The Russian superyacht Amadea docked in National City for nearly a year is estimated to cost about $1 million per month to maintain, according to a recent petition filed in the Fiji Supreme Court.
Attorneys representing the registered owner of the Amadea – Millemarin Investments, LTD – filed the petition last month seeking to overturn a May 2022 court ruling in Fiji that allowed the U.S. Government to seize the 348-foot yacht and sail it to San Diego.
“The AMADEA is a highly complex motor yacht that requires specialized product knowledge for its sophisticated systems, and costs approximately $1 million USD monthly to maintain to proper standards,” according to the petition, filed by Fiji attorney Feizal Haniff.
Haniff represents Eduard Khudainatov, the former CEO of Russia’s state-owned oil company Rosneft, who claims to be the beneficiary of Millemarin Investments, LTD and the sole owner of the $325 million Amadea.
Attorneys for the petitioner said oral arguments are set for April 12 before the Fiji Supreme Court. A court calendar posted on the Fiji judicial website confirmed the hearing, set to begin at 9:30 a.m. Fiji time on April 12.
The Supreme Court of Fiji did not respond to messages from CBS 8.
“Petitioner understands that the AMADEA has been docked in San Diego for nearly the past year and maintained in a manner below the required maritime standards, which is causing significant risks and depreciation,” the petition reads.
“Had the vessel remained frozen in Fiji, Mr. Khudaynatov advised the court that he would have undertaken ‘to continue paying for crew wages, upkeep and maintenance of [the AMADEA] and all Fiji Government charges while [his] appeal is in process,’” the petition continued.
Journalist Stephanie Baker with Bloomberg News has done extensive research on the Amadea. She spoke to CBS 8 via Zoom from London.
“You might think you can lock up a superyacht and walk away and come back when the war in Ukraine is over. In reality, these things take a lot of maintenance to make sure that they don't degrade in value,” said Baker.
“It has two baby grand pianos, one of which is hand painted. It has a mosaic pool. It has silk carpets and silk furnishings that need to be kept in an air-conditioned environment,” Baker said.
"[The Amadea] needs to be washed regularly on the outside so it doesn't have to undergo a multimillion-dollar paint job. These superyachts are sitting basically in a hostile environment of sea water and humidity. They will start degrading unless they're taken care of,” Baker said.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US Department of Justice set up Task Force KleptoCapture to enforce “sweeping sanctions, export restrictions, and economic countermeasures that the United States has imposed” in response to the invasion, the DOJ stated in a news release at the time.
A DOJ seizure warrant issued in Washington, DC and filed in Fiji in April 2022 alleged the Amadea is, in fact, owned by a sanctioned Russian oligarch, Suleyman Kerimov.
“On or about April 12, 2022, Fijian law enforcement and the FBI interviewed crew members of the AMADEA… Multiple crew members identified Kerimov’s family using the yacht on multiple occasions. One crewmember explained that Kerimov had owned the AMADEA since Fall 2021 and that it had been transferred in a ‘backdoor Russian deal,’” FBI Special Agent Timothy Bergen wrote in the affidavit supporting the seizure warrant.
“In or about late 2020 or early 2021, an inspection of the AMADEA was arranged for Kerimov, and Kerimov personally toured the yacht,” Bergen wrote in the affidavit.
Baker, the Bloomberg News reporter, said one reason the DOJ may be waiting to file a forfeiture case in federal court is the complexity of researching ownership of the vessel.
“This case is complicated because the owner on paper is a little-known Russian tycoon who is not under sanctions. And what the U.S. government is trying to argue is that the real beneficial owner of this yacht is the sanctioned Russian oligarch named Suleyman Kerimov,” said Baker.
“In Russia, this is a very common ownership setup. Many Russians often have other people holding assets in their name, in part, because assets can be seized by the Russian government if you fall foul of the Kremlin,” said Baker.
As first reported by Bloomberg News, the DOJ seizure affidavit from 2022 detailed the content of several emails discovered on computers onboard the Amadea, during law enforcement raids.
The emails suggested Kerimov family members requested and made permanent changes to the Amadea.
“[Kerimov’s wife] has requested to add a socket in all guests bathrooms in more accessible for guests location,” the warrant stated. “Kerimov’s family members were also involved in the approval process for a new pizza oven being purchased for the AMADEA’S kitchen.”
But in the recent Fiji Supreme Court petition, attorneys representing Millemarin Investments and Eduard Khudainatov counter the claims made in the DOJ seizure warrant.
“Mr. Kerimov was never on the vessel as a charter guest, only to view it. That his family charted the vessel is not proof of ownership,” the Fiji petition stated.
“Requests for minor changes such as those here (i.e., purchasing a pizza (toaster) oven and moving an electrical outlet) are not unusual for long-term charters, and are not proof of ownership,” the petition continued.
“(T)he evidence put forward is no more than anonymous, unreliable, and inaccurate hearsay in the affidavit – not even live testimony,” attorneys wrote in the Fiji petition. “Reliance upon such evidence is to be deprecated under any circumstances, as it goes against the basic common law position that a party is entitled to see the evidence against them.”
“(A) year has passed and the U.S. has not applied to any U.S. court to obtain a forfeiture warrant for the AMADEA,” the petition states. “The U.S. Authorities took physical possession of the AMADEA and sailed it to the U.S., where it has remained ever since, without the U.S. even bothering to apply for a forfeiture order.”
The petition also argues, under Fiji law, courts can only restrain an asset that is the target of a foreign seizure effort, not remove it from the country.
“No language in the Seizure Warrant is aimed at restraint. It is all about seizure, complete confiscation of the property from Petitioner, without any evidence,” the Fiji petition argued. “At most, the courts should have ordered the restraint of the vessel AMADEA in Fiji and permitted the owner to pay for its maintenance and care, while the U.S. sought a forfeiture order in the U.S. courts.”
The DOJ did not offer a response to CBS 8 messages seeking comment for this report.
The U.S. government would have to file a forfeiture case and be successful in federal court, before the Amadea could be auctioned off. Proceeds from the sale of the yacht could then be used to offset the government’s costs of maintaining the vessel.
“The U.S. government has decided to go after these playthings of the Russian elite to crack down on what they say is sanctions evasion. They're taking a tough line on this and they do want, eventually, to be able to take the proceeds from these assets and use them to help rebuild Ukraine and support the war effort there,” said Baker.
Attorneys representing the yacht’s owner, Millemarin Investments, said they are not requesting that the Amadea to be returned to Fiji. However, overturning the court order in Fiji that authorized the vessel’s seizure, could be presented as evidence in a future case filed by the U.S. government.
*****
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been updated to include the time of the Fiji Supreme Court hearing on calendar.
WATCH RELATED: $300 million yacht owned by Russian oligarch arrives in San Diego