PM Browne says sale of megayacht was best option for Antigua and Barbuda

ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) – Prime Minister Gaston Browne has defended the decision of the Antigua and Barbuda government to sell the megayacht abandoned here by the father of a Russian woman who have gone to court in the United States challenging the sale of the Alfa Nero.

Speaking on a programme on the state-owned ABS Television on Thursday night, Browne told viewers that the sale was the best option available to the government when it was sold.

“We are the only small island state that had ended up with a sanctioned vessel and we don’t have the five million US dollars that is required annually to upkeep the vessel.

“In the United States, they have seized a number of Russian yachts and my understanding is that it is costing them tens of millions of dollars annually to upkeep these vessels. They can afford those payments,” Browne told television viewers.

The megayacht, abandoned by Andrey Guryev, a Russian businessman who founded a fertiliser company, is being sought by his daughter, Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov, who claims she is the rightful owner.

The Antigua and Barbuda government has already indicated that it has hired a United States-based legal firm to defend the country in a Florida court. The government has confirmed that it sold the yacht last year.

The attorneys for Guryeva-Motlokhov alleged in a March 11 filing in federal court that Browne’s administration has not released documents related to the US$40 million sale of the Alfa Nero.

But the government has since announced that it has made available, US$35,000 to the US-based law firm, which it did not name, that will represent the interest of Antigua and Barbuda.

Prime Minister Browne said that the law firm charges US$900.00 per hour and the money has been deposited as an advance to engage the services of the firm.

Both the government and the opposition have traded words over the sale of the yacht with the government accusing the main opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) of playing a role in the lawsuit now before the Florida court. The opposition has denied the accusation.

Prime Minister Browne told the programme that prior to the sale of the Alfa Nero, the government had to petition the US Treasury Department to lift the sanction off the vessel and in doing so it had to explain the potential environmental and economic problems as well as the cost of maintaining the vessel.

“We had to explain that there was no way that a small island state could afford to maintain a sanctioned vessel that was uninsured and without a flag and there was a need for us to acquire the vessel so that we could sell it and in the process resolve a fundamental liability that the government and people of Antigua and Barbuda would have had,” Browne said.

He told viewers that when all the issues are properly examined, the government took what was the best option available in the disposal of the vessel, prior to it becoming a major environmental challenge and for the smooth operations of the Falmouth Harbour here.

He has sought to assuring the population that ‘there is nothing to worry about’ as the government is taking certain legal actions to ensure the view that it acted in the best interest of the people of the country.

Also appearing on the programme were the manager of the Antigua and Barbuda Port Authority, Darwin Telemaque, the government’s chief attorney handling the sale, Anthony Astaphan SC and Financial Secretary, Rosana Davis-Crump.

Telemacque told the programme that the action taken by the government was correct.

“The boat was delisted, uninsured, and without a flag. Therefore, moving it was impossible. The crew that was on board said they were about to leave because they had no more food on board the vessel.

“A decision was taken to acquire the vessel and to sell it. But even at that time, it was still sanctioned and our task was to persuade the US authorities to remove the sanction before we could proceed with anything,” Telemaque added.