Lawyers for PM Browne and others file documents in US Court to Quash Subpoenas in Alfa Nero Case

Antiguan Prime Minister Seeks to Quash US Court Subpoenas in High-Profile Yacht Case

Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne and several government officials have asked a US federal court to quash subpoenas seeking six years of their financial records, arguing that the request is an abuse of process driven by political motives rather than legitimate legal grounds.

In a memorandum of law filed Friday in the Southern District of New York, lawyers for the “Antiguan Movants” — including Prime Minister Browne, his family members, government agencies, and private Antiguan companies — argued that the subpoenas should be withdrawn and a prior court order authorising them vacated.

The subpoenas were issued at the request of Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov, daughter of sanctioned Russian oligarch Andrey Guryev. She is seeking financial records from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and The Clearing House Payments Company as part of a US discovery application under 28 U.S.C. §1782, ostensibly for use in legal proceedings in Antigua and Russia.

However, in their court filing, the Antiguan officials argued that the discovery request is a “bad faith” attempt to defame Prime Minister Browne and damage the country’s reputation, rather than a genuine effort to aid foreign litigation.

“This is not a good faith discovery request. It is a holdup, minus the mask and gun,” the memorandum stated, citing social media posts from Guryeva-Motlokhov’s legal team that accuse Browne of corruption and claim the application aims to expose a “financial web” involving foreign interests hostile to the United States.

The case centres on the 2024 sale of the superyacht Alfa Nero, previously owned by Guryeva-Motlokhov’s father and seized by the Antiguan government under legislation targeting abandoned vessels. The sale followed months of disrepair and the yacht’s designation as blocked property under US sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Antigua secured a licence from the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) before selling the vessel for US$40 million to a Turkish-linked firm. Guryeva-Motlokhov has since challenged the legality of the seizure and filed lawsuits in Antigua and Russia. A third action, reportedly contemplated in the United Arab Emirates, has yet to materialise.

The Antiguan Movants contend that the subpoenas are irrelevant to any of the ongoing cases and instead seek to obtain every wire transfer in which the Movants are mentioned since 2019 — years before the yacht’s sale.

Their lawyers argued that:

• The Antiguan trial has concluded, with judgment pending and no opportunity for new evidence.
• The Russian case targets the yacht’s buyers and has no connection to Antiguan officials.
• No proceedings have begun in the UAE, and any potential prosecution would be at the discretion of local authorities, not Guryeva-Motlokhov.

They further warned that granting such broad access to confidential banking information could harm Antigua’s financial reputation and potentially disrupt its access to international banking systems.

The court filing asked the judge to reject the discovery application and prevent what it characterised as “an attempt at extortion” disguised as legal process.

The case, In re Application of Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov, continues before US District Judge Jesse M. Furman. No date has yet been set for a hearing on the Antiguan Movants’ motion.

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