Nearly one year later,
the Super yacht seized in Fiji after
the invasion of Ukraine is still docked
in San Diego Bay off National City.
the US Justice Department says
it's owned by a Russian oligarch.
A CBS8's David Goffertson reports
attorneys representing the boat's
owner are working to get it back.
It's been almost a year since the Amadea, a
348 foot Russian super yacht,
sailed into San Diego Bay.
After being seized in Fiji by
the US Department of Justice,
the yacht remains in the
custody of the US government,
docked in National city,
even though a forfeiture court
case still has not been filed.
It has two baby grand pianos,
one of which is hand painted,
has a mosaic tiled pool.
It has silk carpets,
silk furnishings that need to be kept
in an air conditioned environment.
The maintenance of the
three $125 million vessel.
Costs an estimated $1,000,000 per month,
according to this petition filed
recently in the Fiji Supreme Court.
Attorneys representing the claimed
owner of the Amadea are worried
the yacht is not being properly
maintained by government contractors.
Petitioner understands that the
Amadea has been docked in San
Diego for nearly the past year
and maintained in a manner below
the required maritime standards,
which is causing significant risks.
And depreciation,
the petition reads.
You might think you know you
can lock up a super yacht and
walk away and come back when
the war in Ukraine is over.
But in reality these things
take a lot of maintenance.
Journalist Stephanie Baker
with Bloomberg News has done
extensive research on the amadea.
She spoke to me via zoom from London.
It needs to be washed regularly on
the outside so it doesn't have to
undergo a multi $1,000,000 paint job.
So these super yachts are sitting
basically in a hostile environment of
seawater and humidity that they will start
degrading unless they're taken care of.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine,
the Department of Justice formed
the Task Force Klepto capture to
enforce economic sanctions against
a number of Russian oligarchs,
including billionaire Solomon Kirimov,
who the DOJ argues is the
true owner of the Ahmadiyya.
The petition filed in the Fiji
Supreme Court argues the yachts
owner is an unsanctioned Russian
tycoon named Edward Kudanitov,
and the seizure of the Ahmadiyya was illegal.
the
US government has decided to go
after these playthings of the
Russian elite to crack down on what
they say is sanctions evasion.
And they're they're taking
a tough line on this,
and they do want eventually to be able
to take the proceeds from these assets.
And use them to help rebuild Ukraine.
The petition also claims the
maintenance costs would have
been paid by the yachts owner,
not US taxpayers, if the Amadea had
simply been detained in Fiji and
not seized by the United States
out here live at Pepper
Park in National City.
Currently, the US government is
paying to maintain the amadea here.
In national City, that $1,000,000
figure is an estimate of what it
typically costs to maintain the vessel.
But the DOJ does plan to sell the
yacht at law at auction eventually,
which would pay for the expenses
incurred by the US government.
And it is a beautifully hot David.
It's been nearly a year since
that yacht was seized and a lot
of people have traveled traveled
to the Bates is to check it out.
It's a a curiosity for people, but.
Why has no forfeiture case been filed
in federal court at this point?
Well, the DOJ did not respond
to a request for comment.
One attorney told me typically a
seizure case is filed within 90
days after the asset is seized,
but not in this case.
This is a very complicated case,
and prosecutors are going to have to
prove who actually owns this yacht.
And that is going to take a
lot of international research.
David Goffertson reporting
for us. Thanks, David.