Leader of the Opposition Jamale Pringle has voiced strong objections to taxpayers funding legal fees in the ongoing Alfa Nero superyacht dispute, as lawyers for Russian claimant Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov seek financial records of Antiguan officials.
Speaking on Observer AM last Friday, Pringle said, “First and foremost, I totally oppose that taxpayers would cover the legal fees for these individuals named in this lawsuit. This could have been avoided.”
The controversy stems from Guryeva-Motlokhov’s claim to ownership of the luxury vessel, which was said to be abandoned in Falmouth Harbour before being sold by the government last year for a reported US$40 million. The daughter of US-sanctioned Russian billionaire Andrey Guryev has filed requests in US federal court to access financial records of Prime Minister Gaston Browne, his wife and one of his sons along with other officials and entities.
Pringle criticized the administration’s handling of the situation from the beginning, saying, “The Gaston Browne administration, if you can recall when this started, we asked for the opportunity to look at this situation a little bit closer because we were blindsided with the whole happenings surrounding the Alfa Nero. They refused to.”
The opposition leader referenced earlier warnings about potential costs, noting, “I can recall Brother Sherfield said publicly that this is going to cost us way more than we are to pay.”
The government has indicated it will contest the subpoenas seeking financial information from Browne, his family members, and the others listed, describing the lawsuit as a “fishing expedition”.
Cabinet officials have indicated that defending these legal actions will require “tens of thousands of dollars”.
The government maintains that it acted in the best interests of the people of Antigua and Barbuda in its handling of the Alfa Nero matter, while the main Opposition continues to question both the process and the resulting financial burden on taxpayers.
