READ THE FINDINGS OF FACT IN THE LATEST ALFA NERO DECISION, AND DECIDE FOR YOURSELF

Notwithstanding the recent ORDER ON YULIA GURYEVA-MOTLOKHOV’S EX PARTE SUPPLEMENTAL APPLICATION FOR JUDICIAL ASSISTANCE IN OBTAINING EVIDENCE FOR USE IN A FOREIGN PROCEEDING PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 1782 TO ADD ADDITIONAL DISCOVERY SUBJECTS, certain media have chosen to conclude that the allegations against Antigua Prime Minister GASTON BROWNE remain unproven. To the contrary, the Order has made a number of what can only be categorized as Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, in ruling that subpoenas shall issue in the Alfa Nero §1782 proceeding. You are invited to read those portions of the Magistrate Judge's opinion and order, which have been reprinted here verbatim. The references to ECF Numbers are to other pleadings previously filed, which the Court has relied upon in support of its stated findings and order.

"All three proceedings arise out of the allegedly illegal seizure and sale of the $120 million superyacht Alfa Nero. See ECF No. [1-1] at 5–17. Two trusts of which “Applicant is currently the sole adult beneficiary” owned the Alfa Nero and its onboard artwork. See ECF No. [1-1] at 5–6. “When conflict in Ukraine broke out in February 2022, the Alfa Nero was located in Antigua and was not sanctioned,” but “Antiguan officials publicly refused to allow the vessel to leave the harbor or provide fuel for the vessel except limited emergency supplies to keep the vessel functional,” leaving it “effectively frozen by Antiguan authorities and functionally unable to leave Antigua.” See ECF No. [1-1] at 6–7. 

Beginning in early March 2023, Applicant’s agent repeatedly attempted to inform the Antiguan Attorney General of Applicant’s ownership interests in the Alfa Nero and its artwork but received no response. See ECF No. [1-1] at 8–9. Several weeks later, in late March 2023, the Antiguan government passed legislation authorizing the Antiguan port manager “to declare vessels abandoned” and “sell them at auction.” See ECF No. [1-1] at 10–11. Using his new powers, the port manager “determined that the Alfa Nero posed an imminent threat to the harbor and the economy of Antigua and announc[ed] an intent to auction” it. See ECF No. [1-1] at 11. When Applicant’s agent finally spoke to the Attorney General in early April, he was redirected to the port manager, but despite “repeatedly” emailing and otherwise attempting to contact the port manager to “prevent any confiscation or sale” of the Alfa Nero, he never responded. See ECF No. [1-1] at 8. So, in June 2023, Applicant filed the Antiguan Proceeding, which remains pending See ECF No. [1-1] at 8–10; ECF No. [21-1] at 25. The Alfa Nero was ultimately sold in July 2024 through Northrop, which is a yacht broker. See ECF No. [1-1] at 14. The sale was “a private transaction” to an “undisclosed” buyer. See ECF No. [1-1] at 14. 

The purchase price was reportedly $40 million, which is less than the $67 million high bid received during the public auction. See ECF No. [1-1] at 11–13. “Following the July 2024 sale, Applicant sought disclosure from the Antiguan courts regarding the distribution of the proceeds.” See ECF No. [1-1] at 15. After the court in the Antiguan Proceedings “ordered the government to file an affidavit and submit relevant documents detailing the sale of the Alfa Nero,” the government disclosed documents accounting for about $36 million of the $40 million purchase price. See ECF No. [1-1] at 15–16. But the disclosures failed to account for the remaining $4 million, did not indicate whether there had been a pre-sale deposit, and did not include the payment of Northrop’s 4.5% commission. See ECF No. [1-1] at 16. 

The disclosures also did not identify the buyer, but according to Applicant’s investigators, the buyers were “Robert Yildirim and Ali Riza Yildirim of the Yildirim Group,” a Turkish construction and shipping conglomerate, which holds the Alfa Nero through the Maltese entity YM Thunder I Shipping Limited (“YM Thunder”). See ECF No. [1-1] at 14. Applicant’s investigators tried to review “the original sale and payment records for the 2024 Alfa Nero sale” using Antiguan public records laws, but they were unable to do so because “they had apparently gone missing.” See ECF No. [1-1] at 17. The Financial Secretary of the Antiguan Ministry of Finance and Corporate Governance “speculated to the investigators that the” documents “had possibly been moved within the custody of the Ministry of Finance,” which is run by Minister of Finance and Prime Minister Gaston Browne. See ECF No. [1-1] at 17. 

According to Applicant, “Browne was strategically involved in the acquisition and subsequent sale of the Alfa Nero,” see ECF No. [1-1] at 19, and his “administration was set to receive up to a 50% commission” on the sale, see ECF No. [1-1] at 15. He has also generally “faced various allegations of corruption, illegal enrichment, and conflicts of interest.” See ECF No. [1-1] at 19. Applicant asserted that “Browne orchestrated the sale of the Alfa Nero for self-interested purposes, and evidence of this corrupt motive would be critical in the” three foreign proceedings for which she seeks discovery through § 1782. See ECF No. [1-1] at 20. In addition to helping prove in the Antiguan Proceeding that the sale of the Alfa Nero was the improper result of Prime Minister Browne’s self-interest, the discovery Applicant sought would aid the Russian Proceeding because it was directed at the buyers (the Yildirim Group) and current owner (YM Thunder) of the Alfa Nero. See ECF No. [1-1] at 38. And it would aid the Contemplated Criminal Proceeding because that litigation would likely include “claims against Browne and potentially the Yildirims” for “transacting in or hiding criminal proceeds under” UAE law. See ECF No. [1-1] at 38." 

[TAKEN DIRECTLY FROM CASE NO. 25-cv-21129-MOORE (SDFL) captioned In re GASTON BROWNE CORRUPTION DISCOVERY APPLICATION, YULIA GURYEVA-MOTLOKHOV, Applicant]