NYT: Antigua and Barbuda is spending $28,000 a week from its budget to maintain a yacht confiscated from Russian billionaire Andrei Guryev

Every week, the authorities of Antigua and Barbuda allocate 28 thousand dollars from taxes paid by residents of the country for the maintenance of the yacht Alfa Nero , which, due to sanctions, was confiscated from a company whose beneficiary is Russian billionaire Adrei Guryev. this reports The Wall Street Journal .

Alfa Nero turned off its transponder a few months after the war began in Ukraine, but the yacht was discovered by US authorities. According to the US Treasury Department, Guryev purchased the ship in 2014, while the entrepreneur claimed that he did not own it, but only used it.

The boat is owned by Flying Dutchman in the British Virgin Islands and operated by Opus Private , registered in Guernsey in the English Channel. The Antigua court concluded that the beneficial owner of the fund, which Opus Private represents , is Guryev's daughter.

After the yacht was seized, it found itself “in legal limbo” because Opus Private could not transfer money for the maintenance of the vessel or its decommissioning due to sanctions, writes the Wall Street Journal . The firm says it tried to obtain licenses to make payments, but “to no avail.”

Over time, the ship's sewage system broke down, releasing raw sewage into the harbor. It also became impossible to insure the yacht, as the firefighting equipment had expired. As a result, most of the boat's crew - initially 37 people - left. 26 crew members have filed a lawsuit against Antigua demanding more than $2 million in wages.

“A small crew remained on board, keeping the decks clean and exchanging vintage bottles of wine stored on the ship for basic food items. According to the captain, the rate was as follows: two bottles of wine for one tuna,” reports the Wall Street Journal . The ship's acting captain, Andrea Maccaferri, compared life on a yacht to a monastery due to the scheduled meals. In addition, he fears the destruction of the ship due to hurricanes.

In February of this year, the crew announced that they no longer planned to put up with such working conditions. The Antigua and Barbuda government then passed emergency legislation to confiscate the Alfa Nero , put it up for auction, cover the ship's maintenance costs and keep the crew on board. The surplus from the sale was to go to the country's treasury.

One of the first potential buyers was Eric Schmidt, a former technical consultant Alphabet parent company for Google's . He offered $67 million for the yacht. The deal did not take place because a company associated with Guryev’s daughter filed a lawsuit to block the sale. It was rejected, but Schmidt did not agree to continue negotiations.

The $120 million Alfa Nero remains docked. To sell it, it must be kept clean and its technical condition monitored. task force The former director of the KleptoCapture said: “There is a market for yachts. There is no market for rotting yachts."

It costs $28,000 weekly to maintain the vessel, which includes the Italian captain's salary and $2,000 a day for diesel to keep the air conditioning running. If the air conditioning stops working, mold will grow on the yacht within 48 hours. interior of the Alfa Nero and a Joan Miró painting. It will damage the hardwood

The United States imposed sanctions against the then owner of Phosagro, Guryev, in August 2022. His son Andrei was also subject to restrictions. The European Union added the entrepreneur to the sanctions list less than a month after the start of the war in Ukraine. Already in May 2022 , it became known that Alfa Nero had disappeared from maps for tracking ships.

After the imposition of sanctions due to the war in Ukraine, dozens of yachts associated with Russians were seized around the world. Among them are the yacht Amadea , which allegedly belongs to Senator Suleiman Kerimov, the yacht Tango , which is associated with oligarch Viktor Vekselberg , and the 140-meter superyacht Scheherazade, which has been associated with President Vladimir Putin.