A megayacht once valued at more than $300 million sold for $187 million to the son of a Dubai billionaire whose company has a business partnership with the Trump Organization, according to government documents and yacht industry executives reported by CNBC.
The buyer was Abbas Sajwani, a 27-year-old whose father, Hussain Sajwani, runs DAMAC Properties, a Dubai real estate company that has partnered with the Trump Organization. The sale price and buyer's identity were not announced by the government, but a government document reviewed by CNBC revealed both.
Hussain Sajwani appeared with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago to announce a $20 billion investment in U.S. data centers. At that press conference, Trump introduced Sajwani as "one of the most respected business leaders in the Middle East and indeed the world." Neither Hussain Sajwani, Abbas Sajwani, nor DAMAC responded to requests for comment. The Department of Justice and the White House also declined to comment.
Amadea, a 348-foot vessel, was seized by U.S. federal authorities in 2022 off the coast of Fiji as part of a crackdown on Russian oligarchs following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The seizure was the highest-profile test case for Task Force KleptoCapture, a program created by the Biden administration to sanction Russian oligarchs and seize assets of those who violated sanctions. The Justice Department alleged the yacht was owned by Suleiman Kerimov, a Russian mining tycoon who had been under sanctions since 2018.
After the seizure, U.S. authorities hired a new crew and sailed Amadea to San Diego, where it sat docked for three years during a legal battle over ownership. During that period, the government spent between $600,000 and $1 million per month to maintain the yacht, cover crew costs, insurance, and docking fees. The total cost during the time under U.S. control was an estimated $36 million.
Following a forfeiture order from a U.S. District Court judge, Amadea was ordered to be auctioned on September 10, 2025. The actual auction took place about a month later and was overseen by the U.S. Marshals Service, which is part of the Justice Department. The director of the Marshals Service, Gadyaces Serralta, was appointed by Trump and sworn in on August 1, just weeks before the Amadea auction. Bids were sealed and submitted to the Marshals Service, which was responsible for selecting the winning bid.
The Marshals Service never publicly announced the winner. "The USMS does not routinely disclose or confirm the identity of the buyer when selling assets," a Marshals Service spokesperson said in a statement.
The final sale price of $187 million represents a significant discount from the yacht's pre-seizure valuation of more than $300 million, a gap that reflects both the years of legal uncertainty and the costs of maintaining the vessel while it sat idle in San Diego Bay.
