Controversial auction of Alfa Nero to take place today, after being postponed on Saturday to tie up legal loose ends
The Government’s auction of the Alfa Nero is scheduled to take place today, April 11, at the Yacht Club Marina in Falmouth Harbour.
The sale of the luxury yacht, valued at US$81 million, was originally slated for Saturday, April 8, but was postponed – reportedly on the advice of the Administration’s lawyers – to tie up certain legal matters.
The 267-foot vessel, which is registered in the name of sanctioned Russian oligarch Andrey Guryev, has been moored at the marina since February 2022.
During last month’s sittings of the House of Parliament, the Browne Administration amended the Port Authority Act.
The amended legislation gives the port manager the right to sell by “public auction or private treaty” any ship or other seagoing vessel that has been “seized, detained or abandoned in any Antigua & Barbuda harbour, or near any Antigua & Barbuda harbour or tidal water.”
During the meeting of the Lower House, the United Progressive Party (UPP) MP’s staged a walk-out. They protested that they had not been given time to consider the proposed amendments, nor to consult legal counsel on what they considered to be a complex matter with serious implications for the marine industry.
MP for St. Phillip South Sherfield Bowen later denounced the legislative changes as a desperate attempt by a cash-strapped administration to make money.
He also lamented that the Administration would be able to keep the proceeds from the auction – regardless of any bank liens that might be held on the vessel – instead of the funds being dispatched to the Government and people of The Ukraine, who were the victims of the war declared by Russia.
Meanwhile, during the Senate debate on the Bill, Minority Leader Shawn Nicholas advised the Administration to deposit the sale funds into an escrow account, as a hedge against future claims.
Concerned residents have noted that – while other countries have seized or frozen assets belonging to sanctioned Russians – Antigua and Barbuda is the first and only nation to have proceeded to the point of sale.
