Antigua government faces new legal challenge over Alfa Nero sale

Antigua’s government is grappling with a fresh legal hurdle following the recent sale of the superyacht Alfa Nero.

The vessel was sold for $40 million less than two weeks ago, and the government has confirmed that the proceeds have already been deposited in a bank.

A lawsuit has since been filed concerning the sale, aimed at claiming the proceeds from the former owner(s).

The Cabinet referred to the legal action as “frivolous” and said “it will not prevent the government from making good on the obligations incurred while the vessel was under its ownership; and, will not deter the administration from investing the overage in the construction of a hotel.”

The Alfa Nero, a 267-foot vessel, was initially abandoned in Antigua’s waters by Russian oligarch Andrey Guryev, known for his ties to President Vladimir Putin.

It had been anchored there since February 2022 until the government seized it in April 2023 and later auctioned it off.

The government had been plagued by legal challenges since then—primarily by Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov, the daughter of Guryev who claimed that the vessel is under her name and the government had no right to seize it.

Cabinet Spokesperson Lionel Hurst said that the government has “no doubt that the end result will be the same.”

Hurst also affirmed that plans to utilize the funds.

“What we are doing is first to pay those people who provided or those enterprises that provided the services as well as the supplies that were necessary. They have to be paid and there’s going to be some overage, no doubt,” he said.

The government had indicated that some funds will be used to build a hotel but it appears that those plans have been scrapped.