Pointing to contradictions in the government’s position regarding the controversial sale of the superyacht Alfa Nero last July, the Member of Parliament for St John’s Rural West, Richard Lewis, has accused Prime Minister Gaston Browne of engaging in “delayed transparency”.
In a recent interview with Observer media, Lewis referenced a September 10, 2024, parliamentary exchange where he directly questioned the Prime Minister about plans to present details of the sale to Parliament.
Browne, at the time, responded by stating that the information was “already in the public domain”.
“I was trying to help the Prime Minister to be transparent, to be accountable,” Lewis told our newsroom. “Had he done that then, he wouldn’t be where he is today.”
The MP’s comments come prior to Browne’s recent announcement that his administration will be presenting full documentation on the $US40 million transaction in a two-hour broadcast on state media next Thursday, followed by a parliamentary session the next day to “fully ventilate this issue”.
This development comes after Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov, daughter of Russian billionaire Andrey Guryev—who have been sanctioned by the UK and US authorities — filed legal proceedings in a US federal court requesting access to financial records of Antiguan officials, including Prime Minister Browne, his wife, their son, the country’s accountant general and the port manager.
The Alfa Nero, initially valued at approximately $120 million, was sold by the government to Robert Yildirim and Ali Riza Yildirim of the Yildirim Group, for US$40 million after it had been declared abandoned in Antiguan waters.
The government has since produced and shared documents to show that the proceeds were used to cover approximately $29 million in “critical fiscal obligations” including payments to the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank, and other creditors.
Lewis emphasized the current controversy could have been prevented had there been greater transparency earlier.
“You silence people by presenting the truth. You don’t have to get upset and quarrel and call names and go down in the gutter. Just present the truth,” he stated.
The Prime Minister has vigorously denied any impropriety in the transaction, characterizing the opposition’s criticism as “promoting sedition” and claiming they are “siding with foreign forces to destroy the reputation of this country”.
