The Alfa Nero moments after it was siezed by Antigua and Barbuda 

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An injunction filed at the Court of Appeal to halt the sale of the Alfa Nero has been refused.

The decision was handed down while the boat was being auctioned

The government seized the yacht recently after it was abandoned in the Falmouth Habour for over a year.

Last week the High Court gave the alleged owners of the Alfa Nero permission to seek a judicial review of the government’s proposed sale of the luxury vessel.

Andrew O’Kola, the attorney representing the yacht’s alleged owners, said his clients are pleased that the High Court granted permission for judicial review on the basis that the proposed sale of the yacht may be unlawful, but disappointed that the High Court did not also grant an injunction to stop the sale going ahead until the legality of what the government is proposing can be properly considered by the courts.

“We are therefore asking the Court of Appeal to grant an emergency injunction. To be clear, however, whether the auction goes ahead tomorrow or not, anyone intending to bid for the yacht needs to know that the government’s argument that it has the legal power to transfer ownership of the yacht to a purchaser is still the subject of an ongoing challenge in the courts.”