Gaston Browne III Will Cooperate Fully with US Alfa Nero Subpoena

Prime Minister Gaston Browne says his son, Gaston Andron Browne III, will cooperate fully if served with a subpoena in United States litigation connected to the Alfa Nero superyacht.

Last week, a United States federal court allowed evidence to be sought from the son of Prime Minister Gaston Browne and several other individuals and companies in Florida.

Gaston Andron Browne III is among those who may now be subpoenaed for testimony and documents connected to the controversial sale of the 266-foot superyacht.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Marty Fulgueira Elfenbein approved the request on September 7 following an application by Russian citizen Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov, who is seeking evidence for use in legal proceedings outside the United States.

But his father, PM Browne said his son was in Antigua and was not avoiding service. He added that an attorney may accompany or advise him on legal questions, but the family would not attempt to block the process.
“Send somebody on a plane with the document. He will gladly receive it,” Browne said. “He will show up in the Florida court. We’re cooperating fully.”

The prime minister emphatically rejected claims that he or his son received US$6 million from the Alfa Nero transaction or held US$700 million in overseas accounts.

“I don’t have one cent outside of Antigua and Barbuda,” Browne said. “I have no savings, no stocks, no shares and no bonds outside of Antigua and Barbuda. I have no third party holding any stocks, bonds or savings for me.”

He said every dollar he had earned locally had been reinvested in the country. Browne disclosed that he held bank accounts while living in Britain and once invested approximately US$30,000 in shares while in South America, losing most of that investment during the technology-market collapse around 2000.

Browne said his son’s Florida home was purchased from part of an approximately US$2 million profit
made on a Long Bay land transaction, which he described as a legitimate private deal.

“I can say categorically that he did not get a single cent – not even a toffee – from Alfa Nero,” the prime minister said.

The allegations remain claims disputed by Browne; his comments on the programme were not a court determination of the issues.

The ruling does not make any finding on the allegations raised by Guryeva-Motlokhov or determine whether they are true. It simply gives her legal authority to seek the requested evidence in the United States.

According to the application, the information could be used in proceedings in Antigua and Barbuda, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.

Cromwell Littlejohn, identified as president and chief commercial officer of Northrop & Johnson Yachts-Ships LLC, may also be required to provide testimony and documents.

The company is alleged in the application to have played a role in brokering the yacht transaction.

The court also authorized records-only subpoenas directed at corporate representatives of Northrop & Johnson Yachts-Ships LLC, Fraser Yachts Florida Inc. and MarineMax Inc.

Records may also be sought from property developer Warren Halle, who had previously attempted to purchase the Alfa Nero.

The latest court action is part of Guryeva-Motlokhov’s continuing challenge to the seizure and eventual sale of the Cayman Islands-registered vessel by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda.

The Alfa Nero was seized in Antigua in 2023 after the government declared it abandoned. Following months of legal and political controversy surrounding the vessel, it was eventually sold in 2024 for US$40 million.

Guryeva-Motlokhov has challenged the circumstances surrounding that transaction, claiming the sale price was about US$60 million below the yacht’s market value.

She further alleges that the vessel was sold to a Maltese company owned by Turkish billionaire Ali Riza Yildirim.