NATIONAL CITY, Calif. — There are new developments in the legal fight over a $300 million dollar Russian superyacht still floating off the coast of National City.
The owner wants it back, while the United States government wants to sell it to provide more aid to Ukraine.
There are multiple people with an invested interest in this yacht, so that's where it gets complicated.
On Monday, the person listed as the UBO or ultimate beneficial owner, sued the U.S. Government for its return. The Justice Department sued to take ownership saying it belongs to a Russian billionaire with U.S. sanctions.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a task force known as "KleptoCapture" was formed to go after the assets of sanctioned oligarchs. The Amadea, a 348-foot superyacht was one of them. It was seized off the coast of Fiji last year and brought right here, to San Diego, under a U.S. warrant.
"They're taking a tough line on this, they want to take proceeds from these assets to help rebuild Ukraine," Stephanie Baker said from Bloomberg.
WATCH: $300 million yacht owned by Russian oligarch arrives in San Diego (2022).
The biggest controversy, is over who is the rightful owner. The civil forfeiture claim filed in federal court lists Suleiman Kerimov, a man with ties to the Russian government, as a beneficial owner, who is under U.S. sanctions because of money laundering accusations in 2018.
However, the lead counsel for a man named Eduard Khudainatov, who is involved in Russian oil, contacted CBS 8 directly and said the Amadea was targeted by the U.S. Government because of its size, opulence, and Russian ownership, and not because of any evidence it was involved in wrongdoing.
Adam Ford, lead counsel for Eduard Khudainatov, provided this official statement:
"The Amadea was seized based upon false premises driven by political motivation. Since then, the Department of Justice has spent over a year and a half, and millions of taxpayer dollars, searching for a narrative to justify its illegal seizure. The government’s latest action was filed after Mr. Khudainatov sued for the Amadea’s return. We are confident that a neutral arbiter will order the return of the Amadea to our client."
There are allegations some of the crew listed Kerimov as the owner when the yacht was seized or that Khudainatov became a straw owner, to protect the man with sanctions - but the complaint filed by Khudainatov says he is the lawful owner, and not on anyone else's behalf. The closest connection according to their complaint, is that Kerimov's daughter chartered the yacht for five months, in 2022.
"No one individual seizure or sanction is going to do the trick, but over time a cumulative impact is designed to put enough pressure on Putin, to where we hope, he will reverse what he's done," Craig Barkacs said, who is a Professor of Business Law at University of San Diego.
As for U.S. taxpayer dollars, it's estimated to cost millions of dollars a month just for upkeep.
The yacht has a helipad, infinity pool, jacuzzi and multiple bars.
"You might think you can lock up a super yacht and walk away when the war is over, but [the] reality is these things take a lot of maintenance," Baker added.
Monday's move for the U.S. to try to take ownership only extends an already lengthy legal battle. If the federal government wins, the plan would be to auction it, and then provide that money to Ukraine.
Again, the owner is hoping for its return.
WATCH RELATED: Russian superyacht spotted cruising around San Diego Bay as taxpayer costs mount