Alfa Nero superyacht could fall to second-highest bidder

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The second highest bid in the June 16 auction was US$66 million (File photo)
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By Charminae George

[email protected]

The Alfa Nero superyacht could possibly end up in the hands of the second highest bidder due to the ongoing legal delays.

Information Minister Melford Nicholas told the post-Cabinet press briefing on Friday that former Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s interest in the vessel is likely to decline.

This stems from the government not being able to grant a free title for the vessel, which would ensure that no one else can claim ownership of the boat.

“The issue…has to do with whether or not we could grant the assurances of free title to Mr Schmidt, and I think that may be an issue that will cause us to have to turn to a second buyer,” Nicholas said.

Schmidt’s decline in interest would mean that the right to purchase the vessel goes to the second-highest bidder who, in the June 16 auction of the vessel, put forward a US$66 million bid.

This bid, like the former Google CEO’s bid (US$67.6 million), exceeds the US$60 million minimum sale price the government had assigned after valuing the superyacht at US$115 million.

The third bid pledged during the auction, however, falls significantly below the minimum sale price, at US$25 million.

On April 11, the 267ft vessel became government property after more than a year in the country’s waters. Currently, the government pays US$28,000 per week to cover expenses related to the vessel, including fuel and crew member salaries.

Since the government’s acquisition of the superyacht, a number of legal challenges seeking to prevent the vessel’s sale have been undertaken by Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov who claims to be the vessel’s rightful owner.

Guryeva-Motlokhov, daughter of the sanctioned Russian oligarch Andrey Guryev, is the sole beneficiary of a trust that owns the Alfa Nero via a 100 percent shareholding in the BVI-based firm, Flying Dutchman Limited.

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