A SUPERYACHT that was seized for its links to Vladimir Putin’s crony Andrey Guryev has finally been sold – but for less than half its original value.
Mystery surrounds the identity of the Alfa Nero’ vessel’s buyer but the boat worth an estimated $105 million (£81.5m) went for a measly $40 million (£31m)
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The 82-metre luxury yacht was abandoned by Caribbean island Antigua for over two years before its confiscation in 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine.
The move came as part of a series of sanctions faced by Russian oligarchs following the onset of the deadly war.
Ronald Sanders, Antigua & Barbuda’s ambassador to the US could not name the yacht‘s new owner due to a confidentiality agreement.
This comes after Sanders gave potential owners up to 10 days to claim the vessel.
He said: “If the owner fails to claim the vessel within that time period, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda will sell it to the highest bidder.”
Former owner of the superyacht, which boasts a 40ft infinity pool among other glamorous features is oligarch Andrey Guryev, 64.
He made his huge £8bn fortune from a Russian fertiliser company PhosAgro but was hit by sanctions by the US, Britain and the EU in 2022.
Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt tried to buy the Alfa Nero for $67.6 million at an auction before he knew of its haunting past.
But Guryev’s daughter Yulia claimed ownership of the high-end vessel, triggering an arduous legal dispute.
However, billionaire dad Guryev denied ownership, but was caught out by the US Treasury Department – which claimed PhosAgro’s former boss bought the boat for $120 million in 2014.
It was registered with a company in the British Virgin Islands and listed Yulia as a beneficiary before being docked at Falmouth Harbour in Saint Paul Parish, Antigua.
Oligarch Guryev’s personal fortune is thought to be $9.3 billion (£7.2bn) despite being subject to US, UK and EU sanctions.
Broker Richard Higgins, who is representing the undisclosed buyer, told Fortune magazine: “They needed to get the boat sold.”
Higgins let slip that the superyacht’s new owner was European and is likely to put the Alfa Nero on the charter market.
The Alfa Nero is just one of several superyachts affected, with a growing number of oligarchs moving their yachts into no extradition waters shorty after Putin waged war on Ukraine.
The vessel was built back in 2007 and won several awards for its design, which includes a staircase that wraps around a glass lift shaft.
The floating mansion features a 40ft infinity pool that doubles up as a helipad, a jacuzzi, a spa, a gym and beauty room.
There’s a beach club which allows guests to jump in and out of the sea and a luxurious interior.
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