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(CMC/CBC News) — A federal judge in the United States has ruled that the financial records of Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne and several other people, including his wife, must be produced but with strict confidentiality conditions attached, as the legal battle continues here regarding the sale of the luxury megayacht Alfa Nero.
Earlier this month, a United States court granted a motion temporarily stopping a subpoena to probe into the finances of Prime Minister Browne, his wife Marie Browne, his son, and several officials involved in the sale of the Alfa Nero.
But US District Judge Jesse M Furman, on Tuesday, sitting in the Southern District of New York, issued a memo endorsement lifting the stay on subpoenas for the financial documents of individuals connected to the case and ordered that the materials be disclosed under a protective order, limiting access to attorneys only — meaning only legal counsel may view the information unless otherwise ordered.
“Upon review of the parties’ letters the court concludes that the proper way to balance [the] applicant’s interest in avoiding unnecessary delay and movants’ privacy interests is to lift the stay and require production subject to a protective order,” Judge Furman wrote in the order.
The landmark ruling allows discovery to proceed in the matter brought by Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov, a businesswoman seeking evidence for use in foreign legal proceedings tied to the seizure and sale of the Alfa Nero.
The subpoenas target international wire transfer records linked to 19 individuals and entities alleged to be involved in questionable transactions.
The US court ruled that efforts to quash or delay the subpoenas lacked merit, and emphasised that the privacy claims made by Browne’s legal team were minimal, given the nature of the records sought.
“This is a strong blow against efforts to delay the truth,” said attorneys for the applicant.
“The court has confirmed that there is a clear public interest in moving forward, especially given the highly politicised atmosphere in Antigua and Barbuda.”
In its filings, the applicant’s legal team accused Prime Minister Browne of using intimidation and defamation threats — including vulgar online attacks against opposing counsel — to disrupt the proceedings.
The court was informed that Browne has made public statements promising lawsuits against the applicant, journalists, and even the chairman of the Opposition party, D Gisele Isaac, in connection with the corruption allegations.
Last month, after a judge granted permission for the applicant’s attorneys to issue subpoenas to access his financial records and other officials involved in the sale of the megayacht Browne, in a post on Facebook, said, “Not a red cent was diverted or unaccounted for.
We have laid bare the records with all of the supporting wire transfers, redacting confidential account numbers.”
He described the action against him and the other local officials as “a spiteful vendetta, fuelled partially by wicked and hateful elements in the United Progressive Party (UPP)…using stale propaganda that have been fully ventilated and debunked”.
Browne said he was disappointed that the UPP would “have joined with foreign forces, with their destructive lies, disinformation and misinformation, to destroy our country’s image abroad”, adding “their mantra is to rule or ruin”.
The megayacht, abandoned by Andrey Guryev, a Russian businessman who founded a fertiliser company, is being sought by his daughter who claims she is the rightful owner.
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Yep, the sharks smell blood in the water.
No more hiding Browne Bwoi, you’re in open waters now, not just in the confines of the local fools who follows you blindly, but where you have become the hunted and the prey.
Time is always longer than twine for every man and his deeds.