U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman has lifted a temporary stay on subpoenas in the high-profile Alfa Nero case, allowing the release of wire transfer records linked to Prime Minister Gaston Browne, his wife Maria Bird-Browne, his son Gaston Andron Browne III, the West Indies Oil Company Ltd (WIOC), and several Antigua-based businesses and individuals.
The ruling clears the way for Russian national Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov’s legal team to access critical financial documents they believe will expose corruption in the sale of the Alfa Nero yacht by the Antiguan government.
The vessel was seized in 2022 and sold in July 2024, but Guryeva-Motlokhov claims rightful ownership, arguing the sale was mishandled and she has been fighting to obtain documents to support her case.
Her attorneys urged the court to act swiftly, citing that further delays would hinder the discovery process, the phase in which both parties gather evidence. The applicant highlighted four main reasons the stay should be lifted.
Firstly, the applicant’s counsel argued that the defendants did not offer evidence that would merit the quashing of the subpoena.
Secondly, the applicant dismissed the defendants’ concerns that compliance with the subpoenas will “irreparably” harm their privacy interests.
Countering the claim, the applicant asserted that private banking records and internal government or personal records are not being sought.
Thirdly, her attorneys contend that leaving the stay in place will “substantially” injure the applicant because of the Prime Minister’s threats of multi-million-dollar defamation lawsuits against the applicant and others.
The attorneys believe that the Prime Minister intends to follow through on his pronouncements and sue Guryeva-Motlokhov for filing the action.
Concerns were also raised about the Prime Minister’s recent verbal attack on her lead counsel on X (formerly Twitter). It was further cited that other vile comments have been directed at her counsel by individuals aligned with the Prime Minister.
Her team argues that any “modest privacy interests” put forth by the defendants are outweighed by the potential “substantial injury” to the applicant if the stay is maintained.
Lastly, Guryeva-Motlokov’s attorneys accused the Prime Minister of “vilifying” the applicant and her counsel as part of his political campaign ahead of a likely snap General Election.
In light of these developments, which are of “significant public interest in Antigua and Barbuda,” the applicant’s counsel argued that “the court should move the matter forward expeditiously,” rather than delay with the stay.
They also contended that the wire transfers in question involve third parties and therefore do not carry strong privacy protections, particularly as the documents would be governed by an “Attorneys-Eyes-Only” confidentiality order.
Opposing the subpoenas, Prime Minister Browne and others argued that releasing the financial records would infringe on their privacy. However the court disagreed, ruling that the records may be disclosed under strict conditions.
Judge Furman has given the parties until April 25, 2025, to file a protective order that will regulate the handling of the information.
Should a future motion to quash the subpoenas succeed, all obtained documents must be destroyed.
The case remains before Judge Furman as both sides prepare for the next phase of proceedings.
