SYDNEY, April 14. /TASS/. A yacht allegedly belonging to Russian senator Suleiman Kerimov has been arrested in Fiji, the local FBC television channel said on Thursday citing law enforcers.
According to the Fiji police, the Amadea yacht entered Fiji’s exclusive economic zone without a due permission on Wednesday. The yacht was detained and law enforcers began to identify its owner and home port. "According to preliminary data, the yacht belongs to Russian national Suleiman Kerimov," the television channel said.
Under Fiji’s laws, a permit from several state departments and services are needed to call at the country’s ports.
Suleiman Kerimov, a biggest shareholder of Russia’s gold miner Polyus, was blacklisted by the European Union in mid-March. He is banned from entering the European Union and his assets, if any, will be frozen.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in response to a request for help by the heads of the Donbass republics. He stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, but aimed to demilitarize and denazify the country.
Following this step, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and several other countries announced sanctions against Russia individuals and legal entities.