$325 Million Amadea Megayacht Is Caught in a Legal War as U.S. Moves to Claim It

When it comes to truly outstanding superyachts, you can never go wrong with Lurssen. The German luxury shipyard, whose portfolio includes record-breakers Dilbar, the Flying Fox, and AHPO, is one of the few builders who can turn naval dreams into reality for any multi-millionaire willing to pay for the privilege.

Lurssen, like the Dutch shipyard Oceanco, is also famous for its strict privacy policy, which includes not sharing details about builds to the press without the owner’s approval, even if that would mean promoting their own work. When that owner is a Russian oligarch, the less said, the better – as the case of Amadea proves.

Amadea is a relatively new Lurssen build, delivered to the owner in 2017. At 348 feet (106 meters) in total length, Amadea is technically a megayacht with reported luxury amenities worthy of this classification. No one knows exactly what these are, and no member of the public or the press has ever seen it because Amadea is – even after all these years – a highly guarded secret.

Amadea is also the apple of discord mentioned in that first paragraph. In the spring of 2022, hot on the heels of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the first wave of sanctions against Russian oligarchs, Amadea sailed into Fiji after what seemed like a mad dash across the Pacific to seek shelter in friendly, non-sanction-applying waters.

To this day, the reasoning behind the move remains a mystery, but its consequences are painfully obvious. Amadea was seized by local authorities on behalf of the U.S. government. After some legal back-and-forth, the vessel eventually fell into U.S. hands and was moved from Fiji to Hawaii and then to San Diego, where it remains today.

The latest development in the ongoing saga starring one of the most secretive megayachts in the world sees it disputed by different parties and, because of it, subject to two different legal procedures in federal court. On one hand, the U.S. government has finally made the move to claim it, while on the other, another Russian billionaire has claimed ownership and is suing to get possession of it.

According to the latest court filings, the U.S. is asking an NYC federal court to forfeit Amadea as part of an ongoing fraud and money laundering case against billionaire Suleiman Kerimov. Authorities have been able to prove that Kerimov periodically paid for maintenance and upgrades on Amadea and hold this to be proof that he's the direct beneficiary. The association with Kerimov is also the reason why Amadea was detained in Fiji in the first place.

In the second lawsuit, this time filed in California, Eduard Khudainatov, the billionaire former CEO of Rosneft, is claiming ownership of Amadea. Though his name is tied to the biggest state-controlled gas company in Russia, Khudainatov is not on the U.S. sanctions list, so if Amadea were his, he'd have every right to get it back.

That's the gist of the lawsuit as well, which the U.S. is trying to fight by claiming Khudainatov is simply not wealthy enough to afford a megayacht like Amadea, and least of all others besides it, as he's been saying. He's acting as the straw owner for Kerimov, the U.S. believes. Khudainatov’s counter-argument is that a Forbes list proves nothing in terms of a real person's buying power: Amadea is his, and he wants it back.

A megayacht worth fighting for

The issue of seized luxury assets was going to be complicated either way, but probably none of the states adopting sanctions against Russian oligarchs expected it to be this complicated. Amadea is a vessel with an estimated value between $325 million and $400 million, so maintenance for it is also incredibly expensive.

The golden rule in the industry is that annual costs for maintenance, upkeep, and assorted fees of a boat represent 10% of its entire value. We might never know exactly what this means with a yacht of Amadea's size, but based on this rule, we can estimate the annual cost of simply maintaining it could be as high as $40 million.

That's money coming out of the budget of the United States right now. For the past year and a half, the U.S. taxpayer has been covering the maintenance of a rich Russian dude's megayacht without as much as the prospect of ever getting a dime back. That could change, though, if the U.S. is granted Amadea as forfeiture and would sell it at auction.

Amadea features exteriors by Espen Oeino and interior design by Francois Zuretti, and five decks laid out in a clamshell structure that makes it instantly recognizable. Amenities range from a large helipad to eight master suites, several pools and jacuzzis, rare pieces of art, incredible entertainment options, and gold finishes throughout.

Kerimov's nickname is "Russian Gatsby" for his fondness for throwing multi-million parties with only A-list guests on the list, and Amadea was just one of the venues where he'd host them. No wonder he wants it back.