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Russian Oligarch's Yacht Seized in Fiji on US Request

The $300 million megayacht Amadea of Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov was seized by local authorities in Lautoka, Fiji on a US Justice Department request, for allegedly being tied to sanctions violations and money laundering. Leon LORD FIJI SUN/AFP
The $300 million megayacht Amadea of Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov was seized by local authorities in Lautoka, Fiji on a US Justice Department request, for allegedly being tied to sanctions violations and money laundering. Leon LORD FIJI SUN/AFP
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Russian Oligarch's Yacht Seized in Fiji on US Request

The $300 million megayacht Amadea of Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov was seized by local authorities in Lautoka, Fiji on a US Justice Department request, for allegedly being tied to sanctions violations and money laundering. Leon LORD FIJI SUN/AFP
The $300 million megayacht Amadea of Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov was seized by local authorities in Lautoka, Fiji on a US Justice Department request, for allegedly being tied to sanctions violations and money laundering. Leon LORD FIJI SUN/AFP

Authorities in Fiji have seized the $300 million yacht of Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov after the US Justice Department requested the vessel be held for violating sanctions and for alleged ties to corruption, the department said Thursday.

The five-year-old, 348-foot (106 meter) "Amadea" was berthed in Lautoka, Fiji in the South Pacific when local authorities took control of it based on a US warrant and a Justice Department request, AFP reported.

"The Amadea is subject to forfeiture based on probable cause of violations of US law, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, money laundering and conspiracy," the department said in a statement.

Kerimov is among a group of Russian oligarchs "who profit from the Russian government through corruption and its malign activity around the globe, including the occupation of Crimea," it said.

The United States has imposed sanctions on Russian oligarchs close to President Vladimir Putin as part of a wave of economic punishment for the invasion of Ukraine.

Kerimov, who has made a fortune as part owner of major Russian energy and financial companies including Gazprom and Sberbank, is also an official of the Russian government and a member of the Russian Federation Council, it said.

- 'No hiding place' -
"There is no hiding place for the assets of criminals who enable the Russian regime," US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

"The Justice Department will be relentless in our efforts to hold accountable those who facilitate the death and destruction we are witnessing in Ukraine," Garland said.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the department had its eyes "on every yacht purchased with dirty money".

"This yacht seizure should tell every corrupt Russian oligarch that they cannot hide -– not even in the remotest part of the world," she said.

"We will use every means of enforcing the sanctions imposed in response to Russia's unprovoked and unjustified war in Ukraine."

Fijian lawyers acting on behalf of Millemarin Investment Ltd, the registered owner of the Amadea, have filed an application for the vessel to be kept in Lautoka where it has been berthed since its arrival in Fiji in the middle of last month.

The Amadea is worth $325 million and boasts a pool, jacuzzi, helipad, and "winter garden" on the sun deck, according to the website superyachtfan.com, which tracks the vessels of the rich.

Millemarin Investment applied at Fiji's High Court this week to prevent its seizure under the US warrant, pending an appeal against the move.

Fiji's director of public prosecutions said the court would rule on the company's application by Friday.

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Rescuers Dig for Survivors of Vanuatu Earthquake

A handout photo made available by the Vanuatu Police Force shows rescue teams conducting search and rescue operations following an earthquake in Port Vila, Vanuatu, 17 December 2024 (issued 18 December 2024). EPA/Vanuatu Police Force
A handout photo made available by the Vanuatu Police Force shows rescue teams conducting search and rescue operations following an earthquake in Port Vila, Vanuatu, 17 December 2024 (issued 18 December 2024). EPA/Vanuatu Police Force
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Rescuers Dig for Survivors of Vanuatu Earthquake

A handout photo made available by the Vanuatu Police Force shows rescue teams conducting search and rescue operations following an earthquake in Port Vila, Vanuatu, 17 December 2024 (issued 18 December 2024). EPA/Vanuatu Police Force
A handout photo made available by the Vanuatu Police Force shows rescue teams conducting search and rescue operations following an earthquake in Port Vila, Vanuatu, 17 December 2024 (issued 18 December 2024). EPA/Vanuatu Police Force

Vanuatu's capital was without water on Wednesday, a day after reservoirs were destroyed by a violent magnitude 7.3 earthquake that wrought havoc on the South Pacific island nation, with the number of people killed and injured expected to rise.
The government's disaster management office said early Wednesday that 14 deaths were confirmed, but hours later said nine had been verified by the main hospital. The number was “expected to increase" as people remained trapped in fallen buildings, a spokesperson said. About 200 have been treated for injuries, The Associated Press reported.
Frantic rescue efforts that began at flattened buildings after the quake hit early Tuesday afternoon continued 30 hours later, with dozens working in dust and heat with little water to seek those yelling for help inside. A few more survivors were extracted from the rubble of downtown buildings in Port Vila, also the country's largest city, while others remained trapped and some were found dead.
A near-total telecommunications collapse meant people struggled to confirm their relatives' safety. Some providers began to reestablish phone service but connections were patchy.
Internet service had not been restored because the submarine cable supplying it was damaged, the operator said.
The earthquake hit at a depth of 57 kilometers (35 miles) and was centered 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of the capital of Vanuatu, a group of 80 islands home to about 330,000 people. A tsunami warning was called off less than two hours after the quake, but dozens of large aftershocks continued to rattle the country.
The Asia-Pacific head of the International Federation of Red Cross, Katie Greenwood, speaking to The Associated Press from Fiji, said it was not clear how many people were still missing or killed.
“We have anecdotal information coming from people at the search and rescue site that are fairly confident that unfortunately those numbers will rise,” she said.
The capital’s main medical facility, Vila Central Hospital, was badly damaged and patients were moved to a military camp. Clement Chipokolo, Vanuatu country director at the Christian relief agency World Vision, said health care services, already strained before the quake, were overwhelmed.
No water in Port Vila While power was out in swathes of Port Vila, the biggest fear among aid agencies was the lack of water. Two large reservoirs serving the capital were totally decimated, the National Disaster Management Office said.
Resident Milroy Cainton said people were joining large queues to buy water in stores, but could only purchase two or four bottles at a time. “People are not really concerned about electricity, they're just concerned about water,” he said.
UNICEF was recording a rise in diarrhea among children, a sign that they had begun to drink tainted water, said the chief of the Vanuatu office, Eric Durpaire. Officials told residents of areas where water had been restored to boil it.