US Appeals Court Says Evidence Request Was Too Speculative in Alfa Nero Case

The United States Court of Appeals has outlined in its full judgment why it rejected a bid by Russian claimant Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov to obtain financial records linked to Prime Minister Gaston Browne and several Antiguan entities, concluding that her application did not meet the legal standard required under US law.

In a summary order issued March 30, the appellate court affirmed an earlier decision by a New York district court that quashed subpoenas seeking banking information from US-based institutions.

At the centre of the ruling was the court’s finding that Guryeva-Motlokhov failed to satisfy the “for use” requirement under 28 U.S.C. §1782 — a key legal threshold that requires applicants to show that the material sought will be used in foreign legal proceedings.

Judges said her arguments relied too heavily on uncertain future developments rather than concrete proceedings. The court noted that she was not seeking to use the requested evidence in an active trial in Antigua and Barbuda, where proceedings had already concluded, but instead in a possible future appeal depending on the outcome of that case.

That, the court said, made the intended use of the evidence speculative.

“The ability to use the requested discovery is entirely dependent on intervening events,” the court found, pointing to the uncertainty of whether any appeal would even be filed or whether the material could be introduced at that stage.

The court also rejected Guryeva-Motlokhov’s claim that the documents could support potential criminal proceedings in the United Arab Emirates. It said there was no reliable indication that such proceedings were likely to materialise within a reasonable timeframe.

Her own legal expert acknowledged that any complaint in the UAE would depend on whether the requested discovery produced useful evidence and whether prosecutors chose to act — factors the court said were too uncertain to satisfy the law.

Under US jurisprudence, courts require more than a theoretical possibility of litigation. Proceedings do not need to be underway, but they must be within “reasonable contemplation,” supported by concrete plans or clear procedural pathways.

The appellate panel agreed with the lower court that Guryeva-Motlokhov had not demonstrated any such pathway, nor identified how the evidence would be introduced in foreign courts.

Because the statutory requirements were not met, the court said the district court was correct to deny the application without even considering additional discretionary factors typically weighed in such cases.

Judges also upheld the decision to quash the subpoenas in full, rejecting arguments that the lower court acted improperly in doing so. They ruled that courts retain inherent authority to revisit and vacate prior discovery orders, particularly where statutory conditions have not been satisfied.

The decision leaves open the possibility for Guryeva-Motlokhov to file a new application if circumstances change materially, but for now, the court found her request fell short of the legal threshold.

The ruling marks a significant procedural victory for Browne and the other parties named in the application, bringing an end — at least for now — to efforts to obtain US-based financial records tied to the disputed Alfa Nero matter.

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