Dubai Billionaire Snaps Up Seized Russian Oligarch's $250M Superyacht at U.S. Auction

Abbas Sajwani paid an undisclosed sum at a U.S. government auction in September 2023 to acquire the Amadea, a 348-foot superyacht previously valued at $300 million, at a price that beat the second-highest bid by just $1 million. The vessel, now valued at approximately $250 million, had been seized from alleged Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov and held in San Diego for more than a year, with U.S. taxpayers covering roughly $36 million in maintenance and upkeep during that period.

The buyer, 27-year-old Dubai developer Abbas Sajwani, carries an estimated net worth of $1.9 billion. His firm, AHS Properties, has built its reputation on ultra-luxury development in Dubai’s most competitive submarkets. Acquiring a trophy asset at a discount to its last known valuation fits a pattern of disciplined, opportunistic capital deployment that has defined his investment career.

The Amadea’s route to auction was anything but straightforward. FBI and Fijian authorities seized the vessel in Lautoka, Fiji, in May 2022, roughly 10 weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The yacht had left Mexico 18 days earlier but was intercepted before reaching international waters. The Department of Justice filed a civil forfeiture case in October 2023, formally setting the auction in motion. Built in 2017 by German shipyard Lürssen, the vessel spans six decks and includes a 10-meter infinity pool with swim-up bar, cinema lounge with firepit, glass winter garden, spa, gymnasium, and helipad. Its interiors feature marble from the Greek island of Thassos, inlaid teak walls, and a hand-painted baby grand piano custom-made by Paris-based manufacturer Pleyel.

Meanwhile, Sajwani’s broader investment record shows a consistent appetite for leveraged, high-return plays across asset classes. He began in 2016 with a $100,000 stock market investment funded by his father, billionaire real estate tycoon Hussain Sajwani. During the pandemic recovery, positions in Simon Property Group and Capri Holdings returned more than 100% between May 2020 and May 2021, yielding approximately $25 million from a reported $5 million initial stake when he exited in spring 2021.

Those proceeds seeded a real estate push. An $11 million villa in Emirates Hills in 2021, financed through bank leverage, was followed by a Palm Jumeirah acquisition before capital was redeployed into Dubai Water Canal development. His flagship residential project, One Canal, a nine-story luxury tower, emerged from that sequence.

The pace has not slowed. In May 2025, AHS Properties completed a $300 million acquisition of the Shangri-La Dubai, a Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star property comprising 302 hotel rooms, 126 apartments, and office space on Sheikh Zayed Road. That same year, Sajwani acquired the “Big Ten Tower,” a 1,076-foot office skyscraper, for $120 million, currently being converted to a luxury office use with plans to remove its faux-clock facade. He is also developing AHS City, a mixed-use project near the Shangri-La targeting a 2030 opening, which will include Dubai’s largest office complex, luxury apartments, a boutique hotel, and 200,000 square feet of spa and food hall facilities.

The Dubai market that underpins much of this activity has been a strong performer. From 2021 through 2025, it generated more transactions above $10 million than New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, London, or Miami combined. By contrast, recent geopolitical pressures have introduced friction: transaction volume fell nearly 30% in the second quarter compared to the prior year, according to real estate brokerage Savills, though per-square-foot pricing has held steady.

Sajwani uses the Amadea as a working base during extended periods, conducting weekday meetings and video conferences aboard the vessel rather than treating it as a vacation asset. It operates seasonally between southern France in summer and St. Barths in winter. His other yacht, the 216-foot AHS, is listed for sale at $50 million.

His London footprint is expanding as well. Sajwani recently acquired the Holme, a 40-bedroom neoclassical estate on Regent’s Park’s inner circle, reportedly for $260 million. Whether that acquisition signals a broader geographic diversification of his capital, or simply another opportunistic purchase at the right price, is a question his next deal will likely answer.