A long-running legal battle over the ownership of the luxury superyacht Alfa Nero took a new turn this week when a United States court ruled that investigative subpoenas targeting the son of Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne can move forward. The case, which has drawn international attention due to its ties to a sitting head of government, centers on conflicting claims over the 269-foot vessel, which was originally seized from a Russian oligarch amid international sanctions following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Antigua and Barbuda’s government auctioned off the Alfa Nero in 2023, selling the superyacht to a Vietnamese entrepreneur for $67 million. However, the original sale collapsed after the buyer failed to complete the required payment, leaving the ownership of the multi-million dollar vessel in limbo. A subsequent second auction was held, with Prime Minister Browne’s own son, Pascal Browne, emerging as the winning bidder for a reduced price of $47 million. This transaction immediately sparked allegations of conflict of interest and unfair bidding practices from parties that had competing interests in the yacht.
The current legal action, which was filed in a U.S. federal court by parties challenging the ownership transfer, sought subpoenas to obtain financial records and testimony from Pascal Browne to investigate whether any improper dealings or undisclosed connections influenced the second auction’s outcome. Legal representatives for Pascal Browne had attempted to block the subpoenas, arguing that the U.S. court lacked proper jurisdiction over the prime minister’s son and that the legal requests were overly broad and unnecessary. But the court rejected those arguments in its recent ruling, clearing the way for the subpoenas to be enforced.
Legal observers note that the ruling opens a new phase of discovery in the case, which could bring increased political pressure on Prime Minister Gaston Browne back in Antigua and Barbuda, as opposition figures have already criticized the transaction as a non-transparent deal that benefits the prime minister’s family. The Alfa Nero dispute remains one of the most high-profile legal cases involving a sanctions-seized Russian asset to date, with implications for how such assets are auctioned and transferred in international jurisdictions.