U.S. Recovers $187M From Seized Russian Superyacht After Three-Year Custody Battle
Government recovers $187 million from sale of seized oligarch-owned vessel after prolonged custody.
SEIZED RUSSIAN SUPERYACHT AMADEA SELLS FOR $187 MILLION AFTER THREE-YEAR FEDERAL CUSTODY
The Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture closed one of its most expensive chapters in late 2025, when the U.S. government sold the 348-foot superyacht Amadea for $187 million, recouping a fraction of the roughly $36 million in public funds spent maintaining the vessel during a protracted forfeiture battle.
Additional reference context is available at https://www.briefs.co/news/dubai-property-scion-pays-187m-for-seized-russian-yacht/.
The case began in 2022, when federal authorities seized the Amadea off Fiji’s coast. The Justice Department identified Suleiman Kerimov, a Russian mining tycoon placed under U.S. sanctions in 2018, as the yacht’s true beneficial owner. That designation made the vessel a prime target for Task Force KleptoCapture, the Biden administration’s enforcement program directed at sanctioned oligarchs and their assets. For three years, the yacht sat in San Diego Bay while the forfeiture case moved through the courts, accumulating monthly costs of between $600,000 and $1 million in maintenance, crewing, insurance, and docking fees.
The public expense was substantial. Tens of millions in federal outlays preceded any recovery.
A U.S. District Court judge ultimately ordered forfeiture, and on September 10, 2025, the government directed the yacht to auction. Roughly a month later, the U.S. Marshals Service opened sealed bids and selected a winner. The Marshals Service typically keeps buyer identities private, but government documents and yacht-industry executives subsequently identified the purchaser as Abbas Sajwani, a 27-year-old Dubai property developer whose bid came in $1 million above the next-highest offer.
Sajwani operates AHS Properties, which previously acquired Dubai’s Shangri-La Hotel for a reported $300 million. Forbes has estimated his personal fortune at $1.9 billion. His father, Hussain Sajwani, runs DAMAC Properties, a major Dubai real estate developer with documented business ties to the Trump Organization. The two companies partnered in 2013 on the Middle East’s first Trump-branded golf course, which opened in 2017. In January 2025, Hussain Sajwani attended an event at Mar-a-Lago with Trump to announce a $20 billion data-center investment in the United States, and by April 2025 he was posting photographs from a White House breakfast with Elon Musk.
When asked about the Amadea purchase, the younger Sajwani told Forbes that while many people use yachts for holidays, the vessel serves him primarily as a residence.
The government’s 2024 appraisal had valued the Amadea at $230 million. The final sale price of $187 million fell well short of that figure, though the vessel remains among the most expensive privately owned ships in the world. Built in 2017 by German shipyard Lurssen, the Amadea spans six decks and accommodates 16 guests with a crew of 36. Its features include a glass winter garden, an infinity pool with a swim-up bar, a 4D theater with moving seats, a party deck fitted with lights and lasers, a hammam and sauna, and a galley with a lobster tank. A five-ton stainless-steel albatross sculpture adorns the bow. The helicopter pad has since been converted into a pickleball court.
What remains unresolved is where the $187 million in proceeds will go. A May 2024 U.S. aid law permits proceeds from seized Russian state assets held in the United States to be directed toward Ukraine’s benefit, though no formal disposition announcement has been made. That question sits with federal authorities.
Meanwhile, the vessel itself is already moving. Tracking data places it at stops in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Charleston, South Carolina, with yacht-industry executives describing those calls as routine maintenance and minor upgrades.
The Amadea case leaves a pointed accountability question for any future high-value asset seizures: the government’s appraisal missed the eventual sale price by $43 million, and the public bore tens of millions in carrying costs before a single dollar was recovered. Whether Task Force KleptoCapture’s remaining cases produce a more favorable return on that model is a question federal oversight bodies have yet to answer publicly.
Q&A
What government agency oversaw the seizure and sale of the Amadea, and what was its mandate?
The Justice Department's Task Force KleptoCapture, the Biden administration's enforcement program directed at sanctioned oligarchs and their assets, oversaw the case. The Task Force identified Suleiman Kerimov, a Russian mining tycoon placed under U.S. sanctions in 2018, as the yacht's true beneficial owner.
How much did the government spend maintaining the Amadea during the three-year custody period, and what were the monthly costs?
The U.S. government spent roughly $36 million in public funds maintaining the vessel during the forfeiture battle. Monthly costs ranged between $600,000 and $1 million, covering maintenance, crewing, insurance, and docking fees while the yacht sat in San Diego Bay.
What was the government's appraisal value for the Amadea, and how did the final sale price compare?
The government's 2024 appraisal valued the Amadea at $230 million. The final sale price of $187 million fell $43 million short of that appraisal, raising questions about the accuracy of government valuations.
What legal authority governs the disposition of proceeds from the Amadea sale, and what is the current status of that determination?
A May 2024 U.S. aid law permits proceeds from seized Russian state assets held in the United States to be directed toward Ukraine's benefit. However, no formal disposition announcement has been made, and the question of where the $187 million will go remains with federal authorities.