US lifts sanction off Alfa Nero

The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, has welcomed the
news that the Government of the United States has removed Super Yacht, Alfa
Nero, from its sanctions list.
The news was delivered to the Prime Minister on Thursday by Antigua and
Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States, who has been leading the effort in
Washington to have the Alfa Nero removed from the List of the Specially
Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) of the Department of the
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
Ambassador Sanders explained that because the Alfa Nero is now lawfully owned
by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, through the Antigua and Barbuda Port
Authority, the super yacht is no longer linked to the sanctioned Russian Oligarch,
Anrey Yurev and his family, and therefore, it is not regarded as ‘blocked property.’
Sir Ronald added that “Effective today, US persons are permitted to engage in any
lawful transactions, regarding the Alfa Nero, and the Government of Antigua and
Barbuda can proceed with an auction to sell the vessel.”
The Ambassador explained that the only prohibition on the Antigua and Barbuda
Government is that it cannot deal with any individual or entity which is sanctioned
by OFAC. “What this means is that the Antigua and Barbuda government cannot
sell the vessel to a sanctioned person or entity, or any entity or person linked to
them.” Sir Ronald further advised that “since the Antigua and Barbuda law,
governing matters related to the Alfa Nero specifically prohibits the sale of the
vessel to a sanctioned person or entity, the Governments of the US and Antigua
and Barbuda are in full agreement on this matter.”
Ambassador Sanders thanked the US Treasury for its full cooperation in resolving
this matter, adding that “the diplomatic outreach at several levels contributed
greatly to the short span of time in getting the sanctions removed from the vessel,
something which usually takes years.”
He said that in all this, the guidance and support of Prime Minister Gaston Browne
was a key factor.