US$40 million Collected for Alfa Nero Already Spent
Prime Minister Gaston Browne says the $40 Million collected for the Alfa Nero has already been spent.
The government has sold the vessel to a Turkish billionaire. Browne, who is also the country’s finance minister, explained that the money was used to pay off the debt the superyacht had accumulated over the past two years.
Despite several limitations that initially blocked the boat’s sale and caused the top two bidders to pull out, the sale was eventually completed.
Additionally, several bids had been received over the years, but Browne stated that the offered amounts were insufficient.
“The Turkish billionaire who now owns the Alfa Nero’s first offer was US25M” Browne said.
Eventually, he “inched up” until he reached US$40. Just over a year ago, the boat was valued at about US$120M. Apart from depreciation, the boat was racking up a huge debt, according to the prime minister.
He said the fuel alone was in excess of U$S3 Million.
“We got the 40 million dollars and what we did is that we used the money to pay our debt. I am told that some entity is going to court next week to seize the money; that’s fine, it is already spent so I don’t know what they are going to steal,” he said
This story was first published by Antigua News on July 20, 2024: antigua.news/2024/07/20/us40-million-collected-for-alfa-nero-already-spent. © 2024 Antigua News. Republication without permission is not allowed.
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