Us Court Widens Alfa Nero Sale Inquiry

by Algernon Watts A United States federal magistrate judge has authorized an expanded round of subpoenas seeking documents and testimony about the controversial sale of the superyacht Alfa Nero, including discovery from Prime Minister Gaston Browne’s son and several Florida-based yacht brokers and companies connected to the transaction. The order was issued on 7 September 2026 by Magistrate Judge Marty Fulgueira Elfenbein of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. It grants a supplemental application filed by Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov, who maintains that she is the sole adult beneficiary of two trusts that owned the Alfa Nero and its onboard artwork.

Guryeva-Motlokhov has been authorized to issue subpoenas to Gaston Andron Browne III, Northrop & Johnson Yachts-Ships, Fraser Yachts Florida, MarineMax, Northrop president and chief commercial officer Cromwell Littlejohn, and businessman Warren E. Halle. The requested discovery includes documents and, in certain cases, depositions concerning the yacht’s valuation, sale negotiations, identity of the purchaser, distribution of the proceeds and the involvement of Antiguan officials and other parties in the transaction. The Alfa Nero, once valued at approximately US$120 million, became stranded in Antigua after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Government later amended the Port Authority Act, declared the vessel abandoned and placed it on the auction block. A public auction in 2023 produced a winning bid of US$67. 6 million from former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, but that transaction collapsed amid continuing litigation. The yacht was eventually sold privately in July 2024 for a reported US$40 million through Northrop & Johnson to an undisclosed purchaser. According to the court…