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Luxury yacht "Amadea" in the port of San Diego: "Found some really interesting things"
Photo: Gregory Bull / picture alliance/dpa/AP
US authorities may have uncovered a rare Fabergé egg on a confiscated Russian oligarch yacht.
Deputy Justice Minister Lisa Monaco said this at the Aspen Security Forum security conference, as reported by CNN and the British Guardian, among others.
According to Monaco, the yacht was brought from Fiji to the port of San Diego.
This is likely to be the $300 million ship "Amadea" owned by Putin's confidante Suleiman Kerimov, which was transferred to the United States after a legal tug of war.
"We found some really interesting things," Monaco said literally.
"We have discovered a Fabergé or alleged Fabergé egg."
Fabergé Eggs are ornaments created by the Saint Petersburg jeweler of the same name from 1885 for the Russian Imperial Family and other empires.
Only 50 of the eggs were made;
they are regarded as the epitome of luxury and are enormously valuable.
Since March, the US Department of Justice has seized billions of dollars in assets from sanctioned Russians as part of the so-called “Klepto-Capture” initiative and a multinational task force.
This includes the yachts of the oligarchs Viktor Vekselberg, Gennady Timchenko and Igor Sechin.
Monaco said it was still important to "expose corruption" and show Russians that "we will do everything we can to get their ill-gotten gains."
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