A floating palace, frozen by sanctions, may soon find a new owner. A New York federal judge has ruled that the U.S. government can move forward with the sale of the Amadea, a 348-foot luxury superyacht linked to sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, despite fierce objections and claims of undervaluation from its supposed owner.
Legal Waves: Khudainatov’s Challenge Rejected
In a ruling Friday, U.S. District Judge Dale E. Ho dismissed a request from Eduard Khudainatov—an associate of Kerimov and former CEO of Russia’s state oil giant Rosneft—to halt the sale of the $230 million vessel. The judge found Khudainatov offered no concrete evidence that the government’s sale would fall significantly below the yacht’s fair market value.
Calling Khudainatov’s concerns speculative, Judge Ho emphasized the mounting cost to the U.S. taxpayer: roughly $850,000 per month in maintenance fees just to keep the Amadea afloat while docked in San Diego.
“A stay would injure the government—and thus, the public interest,” Judge Ho noted in his opinion.
