The political fallout surrounding the contentious sale of the Russian-linked Alfa Nero superyacht has taken a new turn, with Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne publicly confirming that his son, Gaston Andron Browne III, will comply fully with any U.S. court subpoena issued as part of the ongoing legal process. In a recent public statement, Browne clarified that his son remains based in the twin-island nation and has made no attempt to avoid being served with legal documents, after a U.S. federal court granted approval to collect testimony and records from the younger Browne alongside multiple other individuals and corporate entities based in Florida.
“Send somebody on a plane with the document. He will gladly receive it,” Browne stated plainly, adding that his son is prepared to appear before the Florida court and that the government and family are committed to full cooperation with the judicial process. The approval for pursuing subpoenas was granted September 7 by U.S. Magistrate Judge Marty Fulgueira Elfenbein, acting on an evidence-gathering application filed by Russian national Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov, who intends to use the obtained materials in parallel legal proceedings hosted outside the United States. It is important to note that the judge’s order only permits the service of subpoenas, and makes no ruling on the validity of any claims Guryeva-Motlokhov has put forward in her application.
Browne acknowledged that his son will likely retain independent legal counsel to navigate the process, but stressed that no member of the family will take any step to obstruct or delay the U.S. court’s investigation. Beyond addressing the subpoena matter, the prime minister issued a firm denial of all allegations claiming that either he or his son illicitly profited from the sale of the 266-foot luxury superyacht. This includes rejecting claims the pair received $6 million in improper proceeds from the transaction, as well as unsubstantiated assertions that the family holds $700 million in hidden offshore assets.
“I don’t have one cent outside of Antigua and Barbuda,” Browne asserted. “I have no savings, no stocks, no shares and no bonds outside of Antigua and Barbuda. I have no third party holding any stocks, bonds or savings for me.” The prime minister explained that all income he has earned during his career in Antigua and Barbuda has been reinvested in domestic assets within the country. He did acknowledge past limited offshore financial activity: he held personal bank accounts during his time residing in the United Kingdom, and made a roughly $30,000 stock investment during a period living in South America, most of which was lost when the global technology market crashed in the early 2000s.
Browne also addressed public scrutiny over his son’s residential property in Florida, explaining that the purchase was funded entirely by a roughly $2 million profit from a private land development deal in Antigua’s Long Bay area. “I can say categorically that he did not get a single cent – not even a toffee – from Alfa Nero,” Browne emphasized. Guryeva-Motlokhov’s application notes that any evidence obtained through the U.S. subpoena process will be utilized in upcoming legal proceedings in three jurisdictions: Antigua and Barbuda, Russia, and the United States.