When you’ve owned a yacht as stunning as Alfa Nero, letting go is never easy. It certainly isn’t for Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov, daughter of Russian billionaire Andrey Guryev, who has long claimed rightful ownership of the 267-foot Oceanco-built beauty. But while her attachment to the vessel is undeniable, so too is the fact that Alfa Nero was abandoned in Antigua for over a year after U.S. sanctions were imposed on the alleged owner, Andrey Guryev.
Despite previously distancing themselves from the $120 million megayacht, the Guryev family swiftly resurfaced the moment those sanctions were lifted at the request of the Antiguan government, which sought to auction the vessel. Suddenly, ownership was not just acknowledged.
It was fiercely contested. Legal battles erupted, with injunctions filed to halt the sale of Alfa Nero, which had been languishing in Falmouth Harbour since February 2022. The tiny nation of Antigua was spending $62,000 per month on diesel alone for over two years just to keep the air-conditioning running on the superyacht. Which explained their desperation to auction the Alfa Nero.
Still, old habits die hard. Even after the yacht was ultimately sold for $40 million to a Turkish billionaire, Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov refuses to sever ties with her former floating palace, per AP News. Her attorneys have now filed a request in a U.S. federal court seeking access to financial records of multiple high-ranking officials in Antigua and Barbuda, including Prime Minister Gaston Browne, his wife Maria Browne (the Minister of Housing), their son, as well as Antigua’s general accountant and port manager.
The claim is that these individuals who were behind the seizure and sale of Alfa Nero are withholding key documents related to the transaction. Guryeva-Motlokhov’s legal team is coming in guns blazing, demanding wire transfer details and financial records spanning the past five years for seven individuals and 12 entities. Clearly, the battle over Alfa Nero isn’t over. The vessel has been the subject of intense legal drama for years. Even after sitting motionless for months, the real action has played out in courtrooms across jurisdictions.
Prime Minister Browne shared his sentiments on social media, “I have asked my attorneys to determine if this article is defamatory. If so, St.Kitts Nevis Times and others, regionally and internationally, will get their opportunity in court to prove that millions are missing from the Alfa Nero sale and precisely who benefited.”
In June 2023, Alfa Nero was removed from the U.S. sanctions list after Antigua amended its laws, enabling officials to declare abandoned vessels and auction them. That same year, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt attempted to acquire her for $67 million but walked away from the deal due to legal entanglements. Instead, he purchased Shahid Khan’s Kismet in a swift four-day transaction.
By July 2024, Antigua’s government finally sold Alfa Nero to an anonymous buyer for just $40 million, a fraction of its original estimated value. For a brief moment, it seemed the endless courtroom battles had come to an end. The Nuvolari Lenard-designed yacht, with interiors by Alberto Pinto, was destined to sail freely at last. Even the patient crew of the luxury vessel boasting an infinity jet pool with a glass waterfall got paid, and the vessel was revamped for charter ($812,500 a week).
Yet, with Guryeva-Motlokhov’s latest legal maneuver, the tides are shifting once again. Alfa Nero, now sailing under the Maltese flag, and owned by a Turkish billionaire is currently en route to Gustavia in the Caribbean, according to VesselFinder. Whether this marks the end of its turbulent journey or just another storm on the horizon remains to be seen.
