An unnamed person has put down a 10% deposit towards the purchase of Alfa Nero – a luxury yacht once owned by Russian businessman Andrey Guryev. 

Port Manager, Darwin Telemaque who helped usher in the deal says the buyer wishes not to be named and is expected to settle the entire US$40 million sale price shortly. “We are bound by the non-disclosure that we signed with the buyer to do so,” he said in an interview with state media.  

The government was also required to sign an indemnity clause which prevents the new buyer from damages that may arise from third party claims. “The buyer would not have gone through without that. One can understand that there are some significant challenges still awaiting and we are going through them.” Telemaque is however confident that the government’s legal team will win those challenges. 

The amount will cover debt incurred to maintain the vessel over the past 18 months as well as to pay off U$3.4 millions (XCD$9.4 million) to crew members who are owed. The government will decide how they will use the remainder of the settlement once all debts have been settled. 

The sale price is $20 million less than the $60 million offer made by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who withdrew due to legal delays. Ownership disputes have been ongoing, with Yulia Guryeva-Matlakhov, Andrey Guryev’s daughter, claiming ownership, while her father denies ever owning the yacht, stating he was just a passenger. “The whole legal structure around the vessel has caused a lot of people to be disinterested,” Telemaque said.

But not wanting to risk hurricane damage which may have caused further environmental problems, prime minister Gaston Browne told parliament Thursday, it was the best case scenario. Telemaque added that the vessel was “naturally deteriorating” because of a lack of maintenance. 

A US-based brokerage firm will receive a 4.5% commission ($1.8 million) for facilitating the sale. Telemaque noted that it was challenging to get the prime minister to agree to this reduced commission, which is lower than the usual 6% for a yacht of this class. “It took an inordinate amount of effort and sweat and tears to get the prime minister to agree to pay that commission. It was not an easy task at all.”

Telemaque indicated that the prime minister was not willing to agree to pay the brokerage firm the usual 6% commission that a vessel of the Alfa Nero’s class would attract. They ultimately settled on a 1.5 reduction.