(Ken Silva, Headline USA) On the heels of Russia invading Ukraine, the Justice Department announced in May 2022 that it seized a 348-foot luxury vessel owned by sanctioned Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov—touting the move as a major win against Russia’s corrupt oligarchy.
“This yacht seizure should tell every corrupt Russian oligarch that they cannot hide,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco said at the time.
While the Biden-Harris administration may still be happy for sticking it to a Russian billionaire, U.S. taxpayers might not be so pleased about having to foot the bill.
According to an investigation from the Washington Post, the upkeep of the billionaire’s boat, the Amedea, has cost U.S. taxpayers some $30 million since May 2022. The DOJ reportedly confirmed that figure.
Scoop: New records obtained by The Washington Post show how US taxpayers have spent $30 million maintaining a Russian oligarch’s yacht
Expenditures include: flights, groceries, specialized toilet brushes, docking fees and more
Effort has yielded just $6 million for Ukraine pic.twitter.com/QYfXQ28OuZ
— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) December 19, 2024
The Post reported Thursday that the U.S. ran into difficulties as soon as it seized the Amedea because the DOJ did not yet have permission from Fiji’s courts to bring the yacht back to U.S. shores.
“The Fiji courts authorized transfer of the boat in June, but costs to U.S. taxpayers were only beginning,” the Post reported. “Another Russian billionaire who is not under sanctions, Eduard Khudainatov, has claimed that he is in fact the yacht’s owner and that the federal government would be breaking the law by selling property that is rightfully his.”
The U.S. continues incurring costs as it now fights a court battle over the yacht’s ownership.
Court filings described the boat’s upkeep requirements, including that its pool, silk carpets and silk furnishings “be kept in a consistent air-conditioned environment,” that “regularly scheduled washing” protect its multimillion-dollar paint job, and that a “specialized live-in crew” staff the boat for upkeep, according to the Post.
The Post also reported that U.S. law prevents the government from liquidating Russian oligarch assets worth more than $500,000 without due process.
The Amadea reportedly remains anchored at the port of San Diego as of Wednesday.
