“For nearly two years, Applicant [Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov] has been making a simple request to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda (“GOAB”): Stop pretending that the Alfa Nero was ‘abandoned’ and return the vessel to her control,” a new court document says.
“And for nearly two years, GOAB, acting on Browne’s direction, refused to return the vessel, then put it up for public auction (but the winning bidder withdrew due to legal risk), then promised another public auction, then backtracked and sold the vessel in a Browne-led private and below-market sale, and then refused to disclose where the proceeds of that sale went,” according to Alfa Nero’s 25 April document to the federal court in New York.
The document is titled “Gaston Browne Corruption Discovery Application,”
“And when GOAB was unable to account for more than $10 million in alleged sale proceeds after an Antiguan Court ordered disclosure into the matter, Browne and his inner circle removed government records of the sale from GOAB offices.”
“Faced with the intransigence and secrecy of Browne and his inner circle, Applicant was left with few options but to turn to this Court for assistance, filing an application under Section 1782 seeking approval to serve subpoenas (the “Subpoenas”) on two wire transfer clearing houses for wire transfer records (the “Requested Discovery”) about Browne, the alleged buyers of the Alfa Nero, and various individuals and entities connected to Browne (the “Subjects”). In response to the Application, Browne has resorted to threats, misdirection, and manufactured evidence, and generally sought to halt any inquiry into the sale of the Alfa Nero and where the proceeds went.
“More specifically, upon the filing of this application, first, Browne hastily assembled and publicly disclosed a purported summary of the use of the proceeds of the Alfa Nero sale, finally attempting to explain where the missing $10 million in sale proceeds had gone. As detailed herein, this summary was a sloppy and incomplete façade, but in disclosing it Browne finally acknowledged Applicant’s – and the public’s – right to this information.’
“Second, Browne began a predicable campaign of threats and legal pressure against anyone so much as reporting on the Application, publicly announcing his plans to sue Applicant for defamation—yet another contemplated proceeding which would justify Section 1782 relief—and pressuring small media outlets and bloggers in Antigua and other Caribbean nations to retract factual reporting on the Application.
“Third and finally, Browne and the remaining Movants have asked this Court to quash the Subpoenas in full, largely based on a claim that the Application was brought in bad faith. The Motions should be denied, because the Application was not brought in bad faith, but as part of a legitimate inquiry into what happened to the Alfa Nero and the proceeds of its questionable sale, an issue that is or will soon be pending before courts in Antigua, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates (the “Foreign Proceedings”).”
This is an amazing court document, filed 25 April. Download the full PDF here.
