St John’s, March 27….  Given that there are currently misleading stories, appearing in online news portals of dubious journalistic standard, which quote deceptive remarks from members of the United Progressive Party (UPP), the Government of Antigua and Barbuda makes the following statement.

Regarding the current ownership of the Superyacht, Alfa Nero, which has been abandoned in Falmouth Harbour for several months, leaving its crew unpaid and numerous bills unsettled, international law enforcement agencies have advised the Government that the beneficial owner of the vessel is the Russian Oligarch, Andrey Grigoryevich Guryev and his daughter, Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov.  

The suggestion that the vessel is owned by a Mr. Alexander Mavrodi is unsubstantiated, indicating that it is either a hoax by which senior members of the UPP have been duped, or it is a deliberate fabrication.  Certainly, no such claim has been made to the competent authorities in Antigua and Barbuda.

Under the laws of Antigua and Barbuda, the Port Manager gave the beneficial owner of the Alfa Nero, ten days’ public notice from 21 March to present documents of ownership, and to remove the vessel from the territory of Antigua and Barbuda. If a Mr. Alexander Mavrodi exists and, contrary to the evidence available to international law enforcement agencies, he is the verifiable beneficial owner and can substantiate his claim, he is free to advance his claim by 31 March.

If by March 31, no person declares themselves to be the beneficial owner, producing verifiable documents of ownership, by law, the Port Manager will regard the Alfa Nero as abandoned and also as a threat to the safety or security of the harbour and the wellbeing of the country.  Consequently, the vessel will be seized and offered for sale by auction in the interest of the safety of the harbour and the well being of the economy and the people of Antigua and Barbuda. (ends)