Jun 28, 2023 by Kevin Maher
The government of Antigua and Barbuda announced the official selling of M/Y Alfa Nero which was detained after the invasion of Ukraine.
M/Y Alfa Nero, a 266 foot (81.3m) Oceanco, was sold at a live-streamed auction for $67.6 million to former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. The sale came just weeks after the vessel was removed from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s sanctions list, giving full ownership of the yacht to the Antiguan government and clearing the way for a sale.
The U.S. government sanctioned Russian tycoon Andrey Guryev in February 2022. Guryev has been rumored to be the owner of M/Y Alfa Nero in the past, but the billionaire denied ownership of the vessel after it was raided by the FBI and local Antiguan authorities. With no owner found, Antigua seized the vessel as abandoned property, but the crew and fuel providers of the vessel have been left unpaid throughout the 17 month process.
The $67.6 million purchase by Schmidt is about half of its purchase price in 2014, but above the forced sale price, according to Darwin Telemacque, CEO of the Antigua Port Authority.
Triton covered what could happen to Russian owned yachts after being sanctioned here, along with the collateral impact the sanctions have on crew here.
Tagged auction, russian, sanctioned, sanctions, sold
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