The government of Antigua and Barbuda will sell Alfa Nero, at 267 feet one of the largest private yachts in the world, at an auction to the highest bidder.
Alfa Nero, with a baby grand piano and a Miro painting, has been lying in Antigua’s Falmouth harbor since March, 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine. Last year, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on the yacht’s owner, Andrey Guryev, a Russian billionaire, as part of “the United States’ commitment to work closely with international partners to deprive Russian oligarchs and elites of their assets and the proceeds of their wealth.”
The United States says Guryev, who made his money in fertilizers, bought Alfa Nero for $120 million in 2014. Guryev’s lawyer says he doesn’t own it; he just uses it from time to time.
Antigua now says it is being stuck with unpaid bills (the crew costs are $112,000 a month) and it asked the Treasury to lift the sanctions so it could sell the yacht. The Treasury complied. Antigua’s information minister says the Alfa Nero has been abandoned in Falmouth harbor and his government is “trying to prevent a future hazard since the luxury vessel is not being maintained by its owner.”
Alfa Nero was built by Oceanco in 2007, with a 47-foot beam, a 12’ 8” draft, and accommodations for 12 guests and 26 crew. It has a 39-foot infinity pool aft that converts to a helipad or a dance floor, a Jacuzzi and a spa, among many other amenities.
It reportedly was used often by Guryev’s family, including his son and the son’s wife, Valeria, who studied at the London College of Fashion and once wrote on Instagram that she was “too pretty to work.” Read more at http://oceancoyacht.com and see the video below:
