Yesterday marked the fourth day of hearings amidst the continuous legal battle over the ownership of the Alfa Nero superyacht as the court heard numerous submissions from both parties on the issue.
The Alfa Nero continues to cost the government thousands of dollars in maintenance fees each week as it seeks to end a legal entanglement that has hampered any potential sale of the vessel since it was seized by the government in early 2023.
Dr David Dorsett, the Attorney for the yacht’s Russian owner Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov, said among the applications heard by the court, the judge had dismissed an application by the government to strike out the proceedings.
“Yesterday there was an application heard for specific disclosure by the rightful owners of the of the vessel [Flying Dutchman Limited] and they have asked for the government to disclose certain documents which among other things gives us an understanding as to exactly what they were thinking for them to seize and sell the vessel,” Dr Dorsett revealed.
The lawyer said that among some of the documents requested was one relating to the insurance status of the vessel and the expenditure report prior to the government’s seizure of the Alfa Nero.
Meanwhile, another application that was heard on Tuesday was in relation to whether an American who filed an affidavit on behalf of the government of Antigua will be struck from the record.
“The government will be the respondent in an application with respect to an affidavit that was filed by an American lawyer who is representing government’s interest and the owners of the boat have challenged whether the evidence that has been given by that lawyer is proper evidence,” Dr Dorsett said.
“It appears to us that this was expert evidence on American law and law dealing with sanctions, but the court has not appointed him to be an expert and we are asking for it to be struck out.”
Meanwhile, yesterday saw another application heard regarding an appointment of a yacht expert to get answers to the question on the condition of the boat prior to seizure.
The Alfa Nero has been languishing in Falmouth Harbour for two years and the government has claimed that it poses both an environmental and a security risk.
The vessel came to attention when Andrey Guryev, a known close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, appeared on international sanctions lists after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
However, after auctioning the Alfa Nero in 2023, the vessel has not been able to leave the government’s possession after legal cases were brought to delay the process.
This delay had seen highest bidder, Eric Schmidt, withdraw his bid and the government is now seeking to engage the second highest bidder, Warren Halle, after he sued the government for its failure to follow its established auction processes.
The Alfa Nero continues to deplete the public coffers by US$28,000 weekly for maintenance costs as well as paying the salaries for crew members. This tab is picked up by the Citizenship by Investment Unit.