US wants to sell Russian oligarch’s superyacht

The United States wants to sell the superyacht of sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov due to the significant costs of maintaining the vessel, reported Bloomberg. The luxury watercraft is worth $300 million.

US authorities appealed to the courts for permission to sell the 106-meter superyacht named “Amadea.” Every month, $600,000 dollars are spent on maintaining the vessel, including technical service, garbage removal, food and other expenses. This amount is “far from modest” and US citizens should not have to pay for them while the court considers the issue of confiscation of the vessel, according to the US government.

The court, however, has yet to establish whether the vessel really belongs to Kerimov. Washington claims that the Russian oligarch who owns the superyacht has violated sanctions by making payments to US companies through the US financial system. At the same time, the former head of the Russian oil company Rosneft, Eduard Khudaynatov, insists that he is the actual owner of the vessel. Khudaynatov is not under sanctions and claims that he also owns another superyacht named “Scheherazade,” which journalists have reported belongs to Putin. 

Kerimov attempted to conceal his ownership, but the US is convinced he is the owner of Amadea. The U.S. government believes it has the right to sell the ship to stop paying for its expensive maintenance.

The Amadeus has six decks and a helipad. The ship was docked in the U.S. after being ferried from Fiji to Honolulu, and then to San Diego. The Fijian authorities seized the superyacht at the request of the United States. 

The 57-year-old Kerimov’s fortune is estimated to be $9.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.