The US Justice Department’s flagship seizure—a $300 million Russian superyacht—may soon be returned to its claimed owner, as the Biden administration’s sanctions enforcement weakens, Bloomberg reports.The case underscores a core challenge in sanctions enforcement: proving true ownership of luxury assets. Since the Ukraine invasion, Western governments have targeted Russian oligarchs’ wealth, but complex legal structures and hidden ownership arrangements have made seizing and holding these assets increasingly difficult.
At the center of the dispute is a common tactic among Russia’s elite: using intermediaries to obscure asset ownership. While Eduard Khudainatov holds the legal title to the 348-foot Amadea, the DOJ argues he is merely a front for sanctioned billionaire Suleiman Kerimov. Khudainatov’s lawyers admit Kerimov’s family had usage rights but claim it was only a temporary arrangement—a distinction that could be pivotal in court.
Legal Team: Adam C. Ford, Renee Jarusinsky, Robert S. Landy, Anjula Prasad, Stephen Halpin III, Bryan McCracken, Carolyn Sartori and Christine Issacs.