By Shermain Bique-Charles
Antigua and Barbuda is hours away from auctioning off the multi-million dollar luxury superyacht Alfa Nero – and Port Manager Darwin Telemaque has pledged full transparency for the highly anticipated sale.
Not only will the sale be televised but Telemaque told reporters that it will also be supervised by a three-member panel representing the judiciary, clergy, and private sector.
“These three individuals will be at the Treasury Department [for the event],” he said, explaining further that they will participate in the transfer of the bids from the vault where they are being held.
The vast 267ft vessel attracted more than 20 bids which were received by Accountant General Ickford Roberts before being stamped and sealed.
Due diligence is said to have been conducted on all prospective buyers and only those that have met US government criteria have been cleared.
Bids had to include the beneficial owner’s name, address, and the source of funds.
“And when all of these things would have been validated, we now have individuals that are cleared and ready to participate in the bid.
“They wanted to be sure that we were not going to have individuals bidding on the vessel who were either tied to sanctions, individual or sanctioned individuals themselves, or individuals of nefarious character,” Telemaque added.
The bidding process will take place at the Treasury building in St John’s from 10am Friday and it will be televised.
“The vault will be opened and the bids will be removed. We want to demonstrate this clearly and in a very transparent manner.
“The public will see the bids transferred from the vault to the conference room at the Treasury. It will be placed on the table.
“There’ll be a number of bids and the three individuals will begin to open the bids to go through them to see which one is the highest bidder,” Telemaque explained.
The highest bid will then be selected and presented to Telemaque, who will announce the name.
“At that point, that person becomes the beneficial owner of the Alfa Nero, providing that within seven days they can pay to the government of Antigua, whether it be to wire transfer or to cheque or whatever means, the full amount, the full bid amount.
“If they fail after seven days, the second-placed bid will become the winner. And so that therein lies the process,” Telemaque added.
The Alfa Nero has been docked at Falmouth Harbour for over a year. It has been linked to sanctioned Russian fertiliser tycoon Andrey Guryev – a claim Guryev has denied.
It was seized in April by the government who claimed that it was posing a risk to both its environment and fellow boats. The government then moved to have the US sanctions associated with it lifted.
The vessel’s value has been estimated at around US$81 million. The government has declared its intention to place the proceeds into the Consolidated Fund – its main bank account. It must first clear debts which have been accruing at an estimated US$28,000 a week for things including fuel and staff wages since Antigua and Barbuda assumed ownership.
Meanwhile, a High Court judge in Antigua and Barbuda has allowed two applicants to file for judicial review challenging the Port Authority’s decision to sell the Alfa Nero. The same judgment gave the green light for the sale to continue.
In court papers that Observer has seen, Vita Felice Ltd claims to be the owner of several works of art on board the vessel, while BVI-registered firm Flying Dutchman Overseas Ltd claims ownership of the boat.
Both entities are said to be managed by Guernsey-based fiduciary services company Opus Private Ltd which has not responded to repeated requests for comment.
Flying Dutchman and Vita Felice applied on May 22 to prevent the sale of the Alfa Nero on several grounds including procedural unfairness and non-applicability of the sanctions.
They also claimed that the recently amended Port Authority Act violated their constitutional rights.
