Last week, Prime Minister Gaston Browne would have given a stern warning to persons and media houses who were spreading misinformation about the sale and monies collected from the Alfa Nero superyacht.
A news article in the St. Kitts and Nevis Times questioned PM Browne’s role in the matter while other publications like the Associated Press and some opposition members in Antigua and Barbuda were laying claim that PM Browne, his family and other public officials benefitted from the sale.
The matter of the monies collected from the yacht has been a major topic of discussion for the past week after it was revealed that a lawsuit has been filed in a United States Federal Court in Puerto Rico regarding the purchase amount of the Alfa Nero.
An article was published in the Associated Press online news portal referencing this lawsuit. The article, which heavily cites opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) officials, alleges that the lawsuit aims to investigate whether any undisclosed dealings for personal gain occurred.
Following those publications, PM Browne shared he was speaking with his lawyers on possible legal action but on Saturday during the Browne and Browne Show, he confirmed he will be suing several persons including the UPP Chair D. Giselle Isaac and the Associated Press.
He would not be going forward with the litigation against St. Kitts and Nevis Times since they would have posted a retraction.
But PM Browne has no intention to spare Isaac and others who he termed as ‘conspirators’.
“We can prove it, and we will prove it. Y’all may say I am wicked but it’s about protecting my integrity. When for example, they are going to make claims that I own Fancy Bridge and therefore getting dividends cheques from WIOC and try to link me with all kinds of things.
“I am definitely going to sue them. I think they went too far and those publications who repeat it here in Antigua and Barbuda, here in the Caribbean, be careful too,” PM Browne warned.
He believes that this entire matter stems from the UPP who are trying to find avenues to “muddy his name”.
“They were saying publicly, using innuendos that me and my family members got the commission. A commission of four and a half percent was paid to the broker and by the way the 40 million didn’t come to the government you know, it was paid to the broker from the buyer. The broker took out their brokerage fees and then sent the difference to us… and for D Giselle Isaac to say to the Associated Press that I have not accounted is totally untrue,” he added.
Senior Counsel Tony Astaphan also referred to the UPP’s trend of deliberately “manufacturing misinformation where they collaborate and are happy to give interviews to foreign persons who are quite willing to publish and to print matters that conflicts with the public interest of the country or the reputation of the politicians that are in government”.
He said misinformation is a threat to democracy as persons would vote based on fabricated stories.
“It is an unfortunate trend, but it is happening throughout the OECS if you listen to the radio,” Astaphan added.
Cabinet has spoken on the matter as well, joining with the PM in criticizing opposition members referring to it as a “politically motivated attempt to malign the Prime Minister and his family”.
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.
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 Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank, Software One Inc. and Judgment debts and land compensation awards.
