Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov, the daughter of Russian Oligarch Andrey Guryev has
lost her claim in the Court of Appeal in her attempts to stop the sale of the
Superyacht Alfa Nero.
On Wednesday, the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal dismissed her case,
upholding Justice Rene Williams’s order handed down in June, in which she
refused to stop the sale of the vessel.
Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov claims to be the sole shareholder in a Guernsey-based
trust that is the only shareholder in the Flying Dutchman Limited owners of the
superyacht. As such, she is laying claim to the Alfa Nero.
The government had insisted that it was confident that the matter would have been
dismissed at the Appeals Court, just as they had predicted when the case was filed
in the High Court of Justice.
The Government of Antigua and Barbuda maintains adequate time was given for
claims to be made relating to the vessel. However, none materialized until efforts
were made to sell the Alfa Nero, saying the legal challenges were being done to
frustrate the process.
In June, this year, it was announced that former Google Executive, American
Billionaire Eric Schmidt’s bid of US$67 million was accepted during an auction of
the superyacht.
However, the deal fell through, and Schmidt withdrew his offer, due to the legal
challenges.
Officials are hoping that now that the court has ruled on this latest challenge, they
may be able to engage the second-highest bidder.
The superyacht was seized on 11 th April 2023 by the CEO of the Antigua Port
Authority, Darwin Telemaque, in accordance with the Port Authority
(Amendment) Act 2023.
The government has in the past said the situation with the vessel is untenable, and
its abandonment was threatening several sectors of the economy, including the
environment. Additionally, mounting costs are associated with its maintenance,
including salaries and other emoluments owed to the staff of the Alfa Nero.
