Seized Amadea up for auction in September

Amadea was seized by US authorities in Fiji in 2022 as part of sanctions against Russia.

Seized superyacht Amadea has been put up for auction by US authorities and will be sold on 10 September.

Viewings and sealed bids are being invited with Fraser Yachts acting as promotional agents for auction organiser the National Maritime Services of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The 106m Lurssen yacht, located in San Diego, California, was seized by US government officials in Fiji in June 2022 as party of sanctions against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov took beneficial ownership of Amadea, which is valued at about $300m, in September 2021 through a series of transfers between shell companies, said prosecutors in 2023.

A US judge ruled that the claim of Eduard Khudainatov, the former chief of Russian state oil and gas company Rosneft, to be the owner was false.

An initial deposit of $10m will be required to participate in the auction and the yacht will go to the highest bidder, “as is, where is” in its berth in San Diego. There is no fee to place a bid.

If two or more bids are tied, each bidder will be invited to resubmit within 24 hours.

The winning bidder must then deposit a further $10m into the escrow account no later than 10 days after receiving notification. The balance of funds must be paid no later than 28 calendar days after receipt of the winning notification.

Failure to meet these deadlines will result in the second highest bidder becoming the prospective buyer.