The court did not allow the sale of the russian oligarch's yacht, for which the US spends $740 thousand a month

A court in New York has refused to allow the US government to sell a yacht that, according to US prosecutors, belongs to the sanctioned russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov.

The court's decision means that American taxpayers will have to continue paying approximately $740,000 per month for the maintenance and insurance of the luxury motor yacht Amadea. The superyacht with a market value of $230 million and a length of almost a football field - 106 meters - is at the center of a legal dispute over compliance with US sanctions against russia.

The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control has designated Kerimov as a russian oligarch close to russian leader Vladimir Putin who profits from corruption and malicious activities of the russian government around the world, including the occupation of Crimea.

The US prosecutors claimed that Kerimov violated US sanctions by paying more than $1 million for the maintenance of Amadea through the US financial system, which led to a violation of the sanctions regime and subsequently to the arrest of the vessel. After the yacht was confiscated, she planned to sell it at auction and donate the proceeds to rebuild Ukraine.

Two years later, the process was blocked indefinitely by a case involving another russian oligarch, Eduard Khudainatov, who claims ownership of the yacht and is trying to prove in court that the US government cannot confiscate the Amadeus. The U.S. Department of Justice claims that he is only a fictitious owner who is covering up for Kerimov. Khudaynatov denies this.

On February 9, the U.S. government also filed a court petition to sell Amadea to avoid excessive costs of maintaining the luxury superyacht. Khudaynatov's side in court opposes the sale of the yacht and notes that he is ready to pay the cost of maintaining Amadea on a regular basis.

At the same time, on June 11, a judge of the District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that the costs of maintaining the yacht were not "excessive."

According to the judge, "in assessing whether the costs of maintaining the Amadeus are excessive, the court should not look solely at the total dollar amount of the maintenance costs, but should first consider whether these amounts exceed the normal costs of maintaining other yachts." 

An appeal of the decision is possible.

Two days after the court's decision, Khudaynatov's lawyers filed another motion against the US government's request to exclude the oligarch from the case for lack of legal capacity. According to them, this document, together with several statements by the yacht's crew members in support of it, prove that Khudaynatov is the real owner of the vessel, and therefore the ship is not subject to confiscation. The US Department of Justice believes that Kerimov is the true owner.

Source: Voice of America