Amadea Will Only Leave Once Probe Is Completed

Russian superyacht Amadea will only depart Fiji’s shores once all investigations are completed.

Commissioner of Police Brigadier-General Sitiveni Qiliho said investigations started when the luxury superyacht arrived at the Queens Wharf in the Port of Lautoka on Tuesday. They are still ongoing.

Local Police, who were seen at the port, was working with their foreign counterparts to conduct investigations.

“The yacht has been searched by the Police as part of the investigations,” he said “We will exhaust all processes before a determination is made on whether the yacht would continue on its journey.

All crew members had been questioned and held in custody on board while the superyacht remained in Police custody.

“There is one thing we want to stress; is that we are well aware of what we are doing and the provisions of the law that we are exercising in dealing with this situation.”

European Union

Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation to the Pacific Sujiro Seam said talks were ongoing with partner countries, including Fiji, on sanctions against assets of Russian oligarchs.

The sanctions emanate from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and were enforced by the EU, the United States of America and the United Kingdom among other major countries.

“As a part of this sanction regime, several yachts have been seized and impounded within the territory of the European Union,” Mr Seam said.

“Similar yachts have been seized and impounded in countries like Germany, Italy, Spain and France.

“We are working with our partners around the world to ensure we put in place a co-operation to address the matter, including in the Pacific.

“As we speak, we are co-operating with the Government of Fiji to address the matter.”

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