New York:

The U.S. government says it spends more than $7 million a year maintaining a superyacht seized from a sanctioned Russian oligarch and is urging a judge to allow it to auction the vessel until an ownership dispute is resolved.

Fiji authorities seized the 348-foot (106-meter) Amadea worth $300 million in May 2022, claiming the vessel belonged to billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, according to a U.S. arrest warrant ) all. Suleiman Kerimov is a billionaire who was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2014 and 2018 over Russia. Activities in Syria and Ukraine.

Efforts to auction the yacht have been challenged by Eduard Khudainatov, who led Russian state oil and gas company Rosneft from 2010 to 2013.

Khudanatov claimed ownership of the Amadea and said it could not be confiscated because he was not sanctioned.

In court documents filed late Friday, Manhattan federal prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Dale Ho that Amadea’s average monthly maintenance costs of $600,000 were “excessive” and therefore justified an auction. They also said talks to get Khudanatov to pay for maintenance on the yacht had broken down.

Prosecutors said in previous court filings that Khudainatov served as Amadea’s “straw owner” to hide Kerimov’s role and that maintenance costs were critical to maintaining the yacht’s value.

Khudanatov has until February 23 to respond to the prosecutor’s request. His lawyers said in a statement that the motion to sell the vessel was “premature” and urged Mr. Ho to reject the offer until he “determines whether the seizure is unconstitutional.”

The seizure comes as Washington steps up sanctions on people close to Russian President Vladimir Putin in an effort to pressure Moscow to end its war in Ukraine.

If the U.S. government succeeds in auctioning the yacht, it may eventually transfer the sale proceeds to Ukraine.

Prosecutors said Klimov violated U.S. sanctions by paying more than $1 million in maintenance fees to the Amadea through the U.S. financial system, resulting in the ship being docked in San Diego and set to be confiscated.

According to Forbes magazine, Klimov and his family are worth $10.7 billion. He amassed his wealth through Russian gold mining company Polyus, although he is no longer a shareholder.

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