Sources claim Schmidt has backed out of yacht purchase and Cabinet has refused to pay legal fees associated with second bid

News reaching REAL News is that former Google CEO and software
engineer Eric Schmidt has backed out of the Alfa Nero sale, and
reports have surfaced that a Cabinet member has been seeking to
make millions from selling the superyacht to another party.

The Gaston Browne Administration has been silent on the matter
these past several weeks. The last time the matter purportedly was
discussed in the Cabinet was on July 26, as the July 27 Cabinet Notes
reported holding a discussion on the sale of the Alfa Nero and the
pending lawsuits.
 
It was noted that these court challenges were delaying the final
transfer of the vessel from the Government – the current owner – to
Schmidt, who had submitted the winning bid at the June 16 auction.
 

Several lawsuits are before the High Court and the Court of Appeal,
with one party being the daughter of the vessel’s alleged original
owner,  Russian oligarch Andrey Guryev.
 
At that time the Cabinet Notes acknowledged that the court cases
might take several weeks to resolve, and therefore payment was
further delayed until such time as the courts are no longer involved.
Now, however, there are claims that Schmidt has backed out of the
deal, despite the Administration’s promise to indemnify him against
subsequent legal challenges.

Sources also allege that a Cabinet member has entered into an
agreement with the second highest bidder, whose offer was US$66
million.
 
It is alleged that the member presented to his colleagues a legal
agreement that obligated the Government – in essence, the
taxpayers – to foot the bill for fees which totaled several million
dollars.
 
This was turned down by the Cabinet, however.
Sources say that Prime Minister Gaston Browne was out of the
country at the time the member approached Cabinet with the
proposal.
 
A source is wondering how the Cabinet member could expect the
Government to pay for private work. Any work done on behalf of
the second-highest bidder ought to be paid for directly by him, the
source notes.
 
Earlier reports said that an attorney had challenged the Government
for reneging on its own agreement. He charged that the Government

had failed to sell the yacht to the second highest bidder after
Schmidt missed the seven-day payment deadline on June 27 –
reportedly on the advice of his attorneys..
 
In the meantime, the vessel remains docked in Falmouth Harbour in
the heart of the 2023 hurricane season.