ST JOHN’S, ANTIGUA – The main opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) Friday distanced itself from the legal battle taking place in a United States court where the attorneys of a Russian woman have sought permission to issue subpoenas to access the records of Prime Minister Gaston Browne and other officials involved in the sale of a megayacht that her father had abandoned.
Browne has described the action against him and the other local officials as “a spiteful vendetta, fueled partially by wicked and hateful elements in the United Progressive Party (UPP)…using stale propaganda that have been fully ventilated and debunked.”
He said he is disappointed that the UPP would “have joined with foreign forces, with their destructive lies, disinformation and misinformation to destroy our country’s image abroad,” adding “their mantra is to rule or ruin”.
But in a statement on Friday, the UPP said it “strongly condemns” the efforts of Prime Minister Browne to “deceive the public” about the sale of the Alfa Nero.
It said that Browne has “spun a literally incredible tale” accusing the opposition “of instigating or advancing” Yulia Guryeva Motlokhov’s pursuit of justice in US courts.
The opposition recalled that in March 2023, its members walked out of the Parliament, protesting insufficient time to review amendments allowing the government to seize and sell the Alfa Nero.
The megayacht, abandoned by Andrey Guryev, a Russian businessman who founded a fertilizer company, is being sought by his daughter, who claims she is the rightful owner.
On Monday, her attorneys were told that they must first notify Prime Minister Browne and others before serving subpoenas on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the U.S.-based Clearing House Payments Co.
“The financial records will speak for themselves,” said Martin De Luca, with Boies Schiller Flexner LLP.
The attorneys for Guryeva-Motlokhov alleged in a March 11 filing in federal court that Browne’s administration has not released documents related to the US$40 million sale of the yacht.
In a statement, the Antigua and Barbuda government said it is aware of affidavits and evidentiary exhibits filed in the High Court of Justice by Ministry of Finance officials as proof of expenditure from the sale of the Alpa Nero.
“The documents confirm that the proceeds from the Alfa Nero’s sale—amounting to US$40 million—were allocated to cover expenses related to the yacht’s maintenance, services, and supplies and payments of the commission to the agency that facilitated the sale of the super yacht.”
It said additionally, approximately US$29 million of the proceeds were used to address critical fiscal obligations of the Government, including payments to domestic and external creditors such as the St. Kitts-based Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Software One Inc and judgment debts and land compensation awards
But in its statement, the UPP said it has consistently opposed the vessel’s sale, insisting that any proceeds be held in escrow for future claims or allocated to rebuilding Ukraine.
“The United Progressive Party calls on Mr. Browne…to stop making wild and unfounded accusations against the opposition and to come clean on the Alpha Nero deal as well as the matters raised in the Apploccation for Discovery”.
The UPP said it is also “grossly unfair” for tax payers to foot the legal bills associated with the lawsuit.
