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Antigua and Barbuda to auction off $81m yacht ‘owned by Russian oligarch’

Andrey Guryev, who has been put under UK government sanctions, claims he is not owner of Alfa Nero

An $81m (£67m) superyacht said to be owned by the sanctioned Russian oligarch Andrey Guryev is to be auctioned off by the government of Antigua and Barbuda , which claims the vessel has been abandoned in the Caribbean since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.

The government of Antigua and Barbuda on Monday warned the owner of the Alfa Nero superyacht that they had 10 days to claim the vessel or it would be sold to the highest bidder.

The information minister, Melford Nicholas, said Alfa Nero had been abandoned in Falmouth harbour in Antigua since February 2022 and the government was “trying to prevent a future hazard since the luxury vessel is not being maintained by its owner”.

In a statement the office of the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda said: “A notice to the newspapers and other media will be published for a period of 10 days, notifying the sale of the Alfa Nero vessel in order to satisfy the requirements under the law for a forced sale. If the owner fails to claim the vessel within that time period, the government of Antigua and Barbuda will sell it to the highest bidder.”

Guryev, 62, who made a $10bn fortune from the Russian fertiliser company PhosAgro, is the owner of Alfa Nero according to the US government, which imposed sanctions on him last year. The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it had “identified Alfa Nero, a Cayman islands flagged yacht that AG Guryev reportedly bought for $120m in 2014, as blocked property of AG Guryev”.

The yacht, which features a 12-metre infinity pool, a Jacuzzi, a spa, a beauty room and a helipad, has been used by Guryev’s family, including his son (also Andrey) and his son’s wife, Valeria, who studied at the London College of Fashion and once reportedly stated on Instagram that she was “too pretty for work”. Like many yachts, it is owned via an opaque offshore structure, and Guryev has denied being the owner.

Guryev, who was subjected to UK government sanctions in April 2022 , is also, according to the OFAC, the owner of London’s largest private residence: the 25-bedroom £50m Highgate mansion Witanhurst.

The property is officially owned via Boradge Ltd, a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. Guryev’s London-based lawyers have said “Mr Guryev does not own Witanhurst”, without providing further details. Guryev’s spokesperson has previously told the New Yorker that he was a beneficiary of a trust owning the property but not the legal owner.

Last year Gibraltar auctioned off the £65m superyacht Axioma owned by the sanctioned steel billionaire Dmitry Pumpyansky. The sale of Axioma attracted controversy because it is being sold not for the benefit of the Ukrainian people but for a US investment bank, JP Morgan, which claims Pumpyansky owes it more than €20.5m (£17m).

Pumpyansky was until March of 2022 the owner and chairman of the steel pipe manufacturer OAO TMK, a supplier to the Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom. The UK said the billionaire, who it said had built up an estimated £1.84bn fortune, was one of the oligarchs “closest to Putin” .

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• Antigua and Barbuda

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Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt backs out of $67M Alfa Nero purchase

The completion of the sale of abandoned superyacht Alfa Nero has reached another roadblock as former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is reported to have backed out of the deal amid "legal wrangling".

The 81.3-metre Alfa Nero was sold at auction on 16 June for $67,000,677 having been declared abandoned by the government of Antigua and Barbuda, but has been wrapped up in litigation ever since. Ahead of the auction, the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal rejected a last-minute application by Flying Dutchman Overseas Limited (understood to be the registered owner of the vessel) to block the sale. 

The government is now on the receiving end of two more legal challenges: one filed by a secondary party claiming ownership, and another filed by runner-up bidder Warren Halle, who claims that the government were in breach of an agreement to sell the vessel prior to the auction.

Antigua and Barbuda's Ambassador to the United States, Ronald Sanders told Bloomberg : “Schmidt, because of the legal wrangling, determined that we could not give him clear title of the ship. That’s not accurate, because the ship belongs to us, it is owned by the government.”

The delay in the sale of Alfa Nero is the latest chapter in a long saga that began in February 2022, when the vessel was blocked from leaving the port of Antigua subject to an official search to determine whether the ultimate beneficiary owner had been named on international sanctions lists following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

According to the government, the vessel received more than $500,000 worth of fuel during her stay in Antigua. Funds from the sale will be used to pay the yacht's captain and crew as well as other creditors that have been providing fuel and supplies.

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ALFA NERO Yacht – Splendid $120M Superyacht

The ALFA NERO yacht is an 82.27 meter (266.8 ft) luxury yacht first built by Oceanco in 2007.

She ranks in 121st place on the list of largest yachts in the world and was designed by Alberto Pinto and ​​Nuvolari Lenard. She is currently available for charter for a weekly price between US $730,000 and $940,000.

ALFA NERO yacht interior

Alberto Pinto Design Studio worked on the interior of the ALFA NERO yacht. Twelve guests can be accommodated in six beautiful cabins, and a crew of 26 finds space below deck. The massive master suite even has a private terrace and spa pool.

The yacht has an onboard hair and beauty salon, a spa, a dance floor, and a gym. Her interior design is heavily influenced by pop art, which sets her apart from other charter yachts.

Her luxurious furnishings were hand-picked by her designers and let the interior space of the vessel appear inviting and open.

Specifications

The ALFA NERO yacht is 82.27 meters (266.8 ft) long with a 14.2-meter (46.7 ft) beam and a 3.9 meter (12.1 ft) draft.

She weighs 2,159 tons and can reach top speeds of 21 knots but cruises comfortably at 14 knots. She is powered by twin MTU diesel engines .

The exterior of the ALFA NERO yacht was developed by Nuvolari Lenard , an Italian yacht design studio.

She has actually won numerous awards for her exceptional exterior and continues to impress the industry despite her age.

The onboard beach club is very large considering she only has a total length of 82.27 meters (266.8 ft).

She also has an infinity pool on the aft deck that can be converted into a helicopter landing pad if required which is yet another unusual feature. 

Guryev bought ALFA NERO for US $120 million in 2014 and had her refit in 2021. She has annual running costs of US $6 to 12 million.

Her weekly charter price lies between US $730,000 and 940,000, depending on the season.

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• Andrey Guryev
• Nuvolari Lenard

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