REAL NEWS: “A classic case of the Gaston Browne Administration putting the cart before the horse.”
That is how attorney-at-law Charlesworth Tabor has responded to the recent revelation that the Government cannot sell the Alfa Nero mega yacht it has just acquired.
It was only on Tuesday, April 11, that the Browne Administration officially took ownership of the 267-foot mega yacht, after Port Manager Darwin Telemaque delivered the notice of seizure and possession to its crew.
Telemaque then outlined the steps that the Government would be taking to reach the point of auctioning the vessel. These include dealing with the crew’s outstanding matters; ensuring maintenance and security; and flagging the vessel to clear the way for the sale.
But, as Tabor explains, the Administration has been rushing full steam ahead without the benefit of – or heeding – proper advice.
He says the yacht cannot be sold until the United States government has removed the sanction it placed on the assets of a number of Russian oligarchs – including the yacht’s previous owner, Andrey Guryev –, because the sanction prohibits any auction or direct sale of the vessel.
Since the Government cannot sell the yacht at this point, it becomes responsible for its maintenance and for payment of the crew until the sanction is lifted and a subsequent sale can take place.
Residents reacted with shock and anger to the news, apparently broken by Super Yacht News today. They complained bitterly to REAL News that the Browne Administration is already not able to meet its financial commitments – including to teachers and Solid Waste contractors – and therefore has no business taking on the responsibilities associated with owning the vessel.
They also accused the Government of having “made a decision motivated by greed” and “rushing in blindly” in its acquisition of the luxury yacht.
The vessel has been docked at the Falmouth Harbour Marina since February 2022 and was recently declared a safety hazard and environmental threat by the Administration.
The United Progressive Party has opposed the Government’s plans regarding the Alfa Nero throughout the public discourse on the matter, as well as in Parliament when the Port Authority Act was amended to facilitate the seizure and sale of the vessel.
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Just imagine CABINET NOTES says: They had seven lawyers meeting with Cabinet and cleared the way for the Yacht to leave Antigua to the US.
When you have an incompetent Gaston Brown, an incompetent Cabinet and an incompetent Attorney General, and an incompetent Legal Affairs; this is what you end up with: Andrey Guryev yacht stays right here in Falmouth waters.
Writer of this article, you either have the wrong photo of the person you are speaking of or if it is the right person you are referring to then that person id not a lawyer, his father is. Besides Damani Tabor is not a senator anymore. Please get it right.
Is Maxx Lionohel Hurst still an Ambassador? So why do they refer to him as Ambassador Hurst?
You know it is sad that the UPP and their cronies are exposing their ineptness each time they open their mouth. I mean instead of first educating themselves about the procedure they make these senseless comments. Thinking that the Gaston Browne government is as dunce as them. Look how they handled the purchase of the Wadadli Power Plant. It has cost the tax payers over US$55million in a loan we now have to repay to China Exim Bank for the next 50 years, with interest. And what do we have to show for it? Then the very same Tabor takes millions out of Medical Benefits and invests it in a boat through the ABDB, and in the end over EC$13million was lost. And again, we have nothing to show for it. Then we have millions of dollars that they invested in CLICO from both Medical Benefits and Social Security. And nothing to show for and nothing is done. But they accuse this government for the condition of Social Security, not even mentioning the millions that were lost in CLICO. I mean the list goes on. But I’ll leave it here.
Last night on ABS TV Burford did ask Ambassador Sanders why the government didn’t first go and seek that the sanctions were removed before taking possession of the ship? The good gentleman explained to Burford that they got legal advice from their lawyers and from the Treasury Department in the US that Antigua needed to first take possession of the Yacht and thereafter they can come and request that the yacht be de-sanctioned. It sounds strange but if you think of it, why would the USA trust that the owner would not sell it to someone else the minute it is de-sanctioned. And then the USA would have a legal battle to fight the new owner whomever that may be. Now that Antigua and Barbuda are the owner, the process of de-sanctioning can start. I hope that the various parties involved do this expeditiously.
You know Antigua was spared a disaster when the UPP wanted to sell WIOC majority shares to Venezuela. One cannot imagine where Antigua and Barbuda would be today, with the US sanctions on Venezuela. All their assets here in WIOC would be frozen. And Crappo would be smoking our pipe. Cause we would not be able to get any oil from Venezuela. And WIOC would not be able to trade with anyone else. So WIOC would not be able to buy fuel from Shell in Trinidad. Thank God for his divine intervention. Actually, I thank Baldwin Spencer, because he was the one that didn’t trust the deal when it was put forward to him by Harold and Ambassador Underwood. He procrastinated on signing the deal and it turned out to be the best thing he ever did for the country. That is why we should never ever make the mistake of putting our country in the hands of these inept people. They have caused so much loss of money that if we add all of them up it will end up in the billions of dollars. Not to mention the lost court cases. such as that with APC which this government had to settle. Cost awarded by the court was over US$240million. Half Moon Bay interest accrued on the property they acquired amounted to over US$23million. Less we forget these things.
The ABLP has a terrible terrible record of rushing headlong into complicated (or even come to that simple matters) issues that they just don’t have the SKILLSET to manage or handle.
I DESPAIR FOR GASTON BROWNE ISLAND – OPPS! I MEAN ANTIGUA & BARBUDA 🇦🇬
When you make accusations, you should give examples. Don’t you see how I have backed my accusations with several samples? The only time the ABLP has been more or less dropped the ball is in this airline deal. The question what journalists should have been asking is, who is the other airline that brought all these Cameroonians here? High Fly. Who are they and how did they find out about this opportunity? I for one am very skeptical about that. I used to play “Good Cop, Bad Cop” a lot when making deals. It’s done all the time. And Marvelous Mike may be the “Good Cop”, but who is High Fly? Are they the Bad Cop? That is where our journalists should put their energy in. Expose the bad cop. And see if there is a link between the two.
Should the government be concerned about who the bad cops are? Why is it only the responsibility of journalists? Wouldn’t an inquiry help shed some light on these discrepancies?
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