(The Center Square) – The Justice Department wants to keep the $300 million superyacht it seized from a Russian oligarch.
The U.S., with help from Fijian law enforcement, seized the 348-foot luxury vessel owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov in 2022.
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice prosecutors filed a civil forfeiture complaint in the Southern District of New York against the motor yacht Amadea.
"The filing of this complaint exemplifies that the United States takes sanction evasion seriously and will use all tools at its disposal to ensure that sanctioned individuals are held accountable for their crimes," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York said in a statement.
Prosecutors claim Kerimov bought the boat after being sanctioned by the U.S. over the war in Ukraine.
"Kerimov gained beneficial ownership of the vessel in or about September 2021 through a series of transfers between shell companies designed to conceal his ownership of the yacht," according to the Justice Department.
The Amadea is under the control of the U.S. government in San Diego.
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