Alfa Nero proceeds already spent on debts, government dubs lawsuit by claimed owner ‘frivolous’

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The Alfa Nero was still docked in Falmouth Harbour up to news time
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By Robert Andre Emmanuel

[email protected]

Minister of Housing Maria Browne says the proceeds from the sale of the Alfa Nero have been used to repay debts as the government continues to battle a court case by the superyacht’s alleged former owners.

Never mind that Prime Minister Gaston Browne told Parliament last week that the government was looking at using some of the sale funds to construct a resort at Callaloo Cay, Morris Bay.

In an email to reporters yesterday correcting the Cabinet notes sent out moments earlier by the PM’s Chief of Staff Lionel Hurst, Minister Maria Browne said that the original decision to use some of the funds for the hotel project had been scrapped.

She wrote that the proceeds had been used to “retire debts associated with the vessel and the balance was utilised to reduce government debt”.  

Observer reached out to her to clarify her remarks but was unsuccessful up to press time.

The superyacht was seized by the government more than a year ago and has now been sold for US$40 million—which has already been deposited into a bank account, according to the Prime Minister.

It remains unclear as to when the vessel will be taken out of Falmouth Harbour as Hurst told reporters that the new owner—who is yet to be officially confirmed—had told the government he planned to remove the boat from Antiguan waters as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the government continues to face a lawsuit  – which it has called “frivolous” – by the alleged former owners of the vessel. The government said it was determined that the lawsuit would not prevent it from settling the obligations incurred while the vessel was under its ownership.

It previously said it had indemnified the buyer, which means the government would be responsible for reimbursing the purchaser for any future loss or liability such as from third party claims.

However, the United Progressive Party’s (UPP) legal representative Leon ‘Chaku’ Symister said that the people of Antigua and Barbuda would bear the burden of that clause.

“What I think is of more significance, and should be for the people of Antigua and Barbuda, is the potential burden that the Gaston Browne administration has placed on the back of the citizens and residents of this country,” Symister said.

The attorney also expressed concern about the boat’s sale price, which is significantly lower than what two previous interested buyers were offering. Former Google boss Eric Schmidt pledged US$67.6 million at an auction in June 2023.

“We have had a plethora of incidents, and mismanagement of our resources by this government, so when Gaston Browne and his administration will boast that they have sold the Alfa Nero, we have to remember they told us it was worth $120 million and they sold it for a third of the value,” Symister continued.

The Prime Minister, who said that he would make details of the sale public shortly, noted that the legal challenges surrounding the vessel and its publicity meant that the sale price was lower.

The buyer came through an international brokerage firm that received a commission of 4.5 percent of the proceeds.

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