The US court that issued a subpoena to probe into the finances of Prime Minister Gaston Browne, his wife, Minister Marie Browne, his son and several officials involved in the Alfa Nero sale has now granted the government officials permission to intervene.
But it is still a long way before the matter is finally settled. The court first granted the order for a subpoena for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Clearing House Payments Company LLC to provide information regarding the sale and disbursement of any funds related to the said sale.
The firm representing Prime Minister Browne; Maria Bird-Browne; Gaston Andron Browne III; Hyacinth Harris; Darwin Telemaque; Ickford Roberts; IF Antigua Inc.; Farmer DG Browne Co. Limited; Cove Head Development Limited; and Cove Head Communications Limited filed two important motions (1) to intervene in the proceeding and (2) to vacate the Section 1782 order issued by the Court and to quash the subpoenas served on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Clearing House Payments Company LLC.
The motion to intervene was unopposed and the Court granted it on Friday.
The Russian woman behind this matter, Ms. Guryeva-Motlokhov has until April 25 to respond to the motion to vacate and to quash, and with the law firm set to file a reply on May 2.
Senior Counsel, Anthony Astaphan, who is the government’s chief lawyer in the Alfa Nero sale, said he is ‘very happy’ with where the case is today with the court granting the motion to intervene. Additionally, he said he is pleased that a date has been set for the case to begin.
He said he is happy with the contents of the motion filed before the court as it aligns with what the government has been saying on the matter all along. He added that he is very confident that the court will rule in the government’s favour in this matter, a sentiment also shared by the American law firm that is handling the case.
“As someone with some understanding of the law, I was very impressed with the quality of submission by the American lawyers,” he declared.
The move to subpoena the bank’s records by the Russian national has been described in legal circles locally as ‘a fishing exercise’.
