A judge in the country ruled in favor of the U.S. officials in their attempt to seize a superyacht docked in the country that they suspect is owned by a Russian billionaire and politician.
Boat captain Emosi Dawai looks at the superyacht Amadea where it is docked at the Queens wharf.
The Associated Press reported that the judge granted the order allowing the U.S. to seize Amadea, but put a hold on it until Friday to allow the defense lawyers to challenge the ruling.
According to the U.S. authorities, the real owner of the yacht is Kerimov, a Russian Senator who made his fortune by betting on Russia's largest gold producer, Polyus.
According to defense lawyers, the real owner of the vessel is the former CEO of Russian oil and gas giant Rosneft, who does not appear on any current sanctions list.
The seizure effort is being led by Task Force KleptoCapture, which was set up by the Justice Department in March.
We are working with allies and partners to go after corrupt gains from some of the individuals closest to Putin, no matter where they are held around the world. The embassy said it was working to impose costs on Russia because of the war of choice.
Christopher Pryde, the top public prosecutor in the country, applied to the High Court for a restraining order to stop the vessel from leaving. The judge ordered that Amadea not be allowed to leave the country until the U.S. warrant was fully examined. Western sanctions have been imposed on Kerimov and his son, Said, who is Polyus Gold's majority shareholder. Russian billionaires with close ties to Putin have had their luxury yachts seized in Europe.
It was $15.6 billion. The current net worth of Suleiman Kerimov and his family is listed by Forbes.
The US can seize a Russian superyacht, but not immediately.
According to a report, U.S. officials are trying to seize a yacht that is linked to Russian gold.
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