Fiji’s Director of Public Prosecutions Christopher Pryde filed an ex parte originating summons under the mutual assistance in Criminal Matters Act in the high court this morning seeking orders to restrain the motor yacht Amadea from leaving Fijian waters.
In the application, the DPP sought to restrain the Russian superyacht, docked at the Lautoka wharf, from leaving until the finalisation of an application to register a warrant to seize the property and that a US warrant to seize the Amadea be registered.
The court is yet to give a date for hearing the DPP’s application.
Owned by Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, the yacht was seized by police when it arrived at the Lautoka wharf last Wednesday after it allegedly failed to obtain clearance before arriving in Fiji’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Fiji Sun reported that the vessel was already in Fiji waters before seeking customs clearance.
