United States v. the M/Y Amadea, a Motor Yacht

── United States v. the M/Y Amadea, a Motor Yacht ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Date: June 01, 2026 Category: General 25-869-cv United States v. The M/Y Amadea, a Motor Yacht Bearing Int’l Mar. Org. No. 1012531, Including All Fixtures, Fittings, Manuals, Stocks, Stores, Inventories, & Each Lifeboat, Tender, and Other Appurtenance Thereto United States Court of Appeals For the Second Circuit August Term, 2025 (Argued: April 23, 2026 Decided: June 1, 2026) Docket No. 25-869-cv _____________________________________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. EDUARD YURIEVICH KHUDAINATOV, MILLEMARIN INVESTMENTS LTD., Claimants-Appellants, THE M/Y AMADEA, A MOTOR YACHT BEARING INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION NO. 1012531, INCLUDING ALL FIXTURES, FITTINGS, MANUALS, STOCKS, STORES, INVENTORIES, AND EACH LIFEBOAT, TENDER, AND OTHER APPURTENANCE THERETO, Defendant-in-rem. _____________________________________ Before: PARKER, LOHIER, and MERRIAM, Circuit Judges. The Government initiated a civil forfeiture action against the M/Y Amadea, a luxury superyacht that the Government alleges is really owned by a Russian national subject to sanctions by the United States. Claimants Eduard Yurievich Khudainatov and Millemarin Investments Ltd. filed a claim to the Amadea, alleging that Khudainatov was the ultimate beneficial owner of the Amadea through his company, Millemarin. The Government moved to strike the Claimants’ claim, arguing that the Claimants were mere straw owners of the Amadea and therefore lacked constitutional standing to contest its forfeiture. Following an evidentiary hearing pursuant to Rule G(8)(c) of the Supplemental Rules for Admiralty or Maritime Claims and Asset Forfeiture Actions, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Ho, J.) granted the Government’s motion and struck the Claimants’ claim. We agree with the District Court’s conclusion that Claimants lack constitutional standing and therefore AFFIRM. ALEXANDRA A.E. SHAPIRO, Shapiro Arato Bach LLP, New York, NY (Theodore Sampsell-Jones, William I. Taylor, Shapiro Arato Bach LLP, New York, NY, Susan E. Brune, Brune Law P.C., New York, NY, Adam C. Ford, Ford O’Brien Landy LLP, New York, NY, on the brief), for Claimants-Appellants. JENNIFER JUDE, Assistant United States Attorney (Rachael Doud, Dominika Tarczynska, Benjamin H. Torrance, Assistant United States Attorneys, for Jay Clayton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, New York, NY, A. Tysen Duva, Assistant Attorney General, Margaret A. Moeser, Chief, Joshua L. Sohn, Trial Attorney, Criminal Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, on the brief), for Plaintiff-Appellee. LOHIER, Circuit Judge: This appeal arises from a civil forfeiture action against the M/Y Amadea, a 348-foot luxury superyacht that the Government alleges is beneficially owned by 2 Suleiman Kerimov, a Russian national “[o]ligarch” subject to sanctions by the United States. App’x 79. The Claimants-Appellants, Eduard Yurievich Khudainatov and his company, Millemarin Investments Ltd., filed a claim challenging the forfeiture of the Amadea on the ground that they, not Kerimov, owned the Amadea. After an evidentiary hearing, the United States Distri