Government receives legal advice on the proposed sale of the Alfa Nero

The government is seeking to protect itself and its officers from possible legal
action when it proceeds with the sale of the yacht, the Alfa Nero, which has been
moored at Falmouth Harbour for more than a year.
To this end, the Cabinet invited three lawyers from the Legal Affairs Division to
review an amended law, governing the Antigua Port.
The amendment will make clear the ability of the government to sell by auction a
vessel that appears sanctioned, or which falls under the proceeds of Crime Act. The
Alfa Nero has been in the waters of Antigua and Barbuda for more than a year and
a half; it has received more than five hundred thousand ($500,000.00) dollars’
worth of fuel; and the money to buy food for the crew (reduced from forty-one to
five members), is projected to last no more than two weeks.
“A ten-day notice will follow the auction that will appear in the local press as well
as outside of the jurisdiction. Such that everyone in the world will notice the
government’s intention to sell the vessel that poses a threat to other vessels and the
harbour where it is moored,” cabinet sources revealed.
According to the sources, the government wants to ensure that it dots every ‘i’ and
crosses every ‘t’ to ensure that when the vessel is sold, there would be no grounds
upon which anyone is able to seek legal redress. This means, making an
amendment to the existing law which the government is committed to do when
parliament meets on Thursday.
The government has been informed by external agencies that the vessel is owned
by a Russian oligarch who is among dozens of rich Russians who have been
sanctioned by western powers, since the invasion and occupation of portions of
Ukraine by Russia, in February last year and which continues even today.