US Lifts Sanctions From Russian Tycoon's $120Mln Yacht Arrested In Antigua - Treasury

The United States on Thursday lifted sanctions from Russian businessman Andrey Guryev's $120 million yacht to enable the authorities of Antigua and Barbuda to sell it in an auction, the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a press release

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st June, 2023) The United States on Thursday lifted sanctions from Russian businessman Andrey Guryev's $120 million yacht to enable the authorities of Antigua and Barbuda to sell it in an auction, the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a press release.

Built in 2007, Alfa Nero yacht has been under arrest in the Caribbean country since August 2022 when it was captured by FBI agents tracing it for months, according to media reports.

On May 18, the US Department of the Treasury issued a special license to the government of Antigua and Barbuda, authorizing certain persons to participate in an auction of the vessel Alfa Nero. The government of the Caribbean country nevertheless continued to pursue the full delisting of the vessel from the US Treasury's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons.

Luxury Launches website reported in April that the Antiguan military boarded the 279-foot (85 meters) yacht to prepare it for a potential sale process with at least 20 bids as high as $72 million received from across the world, including from wealthy buyers in France, Saudi Arabia, Monaco, and New Zealand.

The report noted that Guryev's lawyers had denied any connection between the businessman and the luxury boat and the vessel was deemed abandoned and a hazard to the country's economy by the Antiguan government.

Guryev, the founder and former Deputy Chairman of the fertilizer company PhosAgro, his son Andrey and Alfa Nero were added to the US list of sanctions in August 2022 for operating in economic sectors that generate substantial revenue for the Russian government amid the conflict in Ukraine.