Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt won a superyacht at auction this week. Shortly after Russian troops invaded Ukraine, the superyacht was allegedly abandoned in March 2022 in Falmouth Harbour, Antigua.
The Russian superyacht, Alfa Nero is 267 feet long. It features an Olympic-sized swimming pool that turns into a helipad, with a baby grand piano and artwork by renowned Spanish master Joan Miro.
According to Sir Ronald Sanders, Antigua’s ambassador to the US Schmidt “won the auction in a fully transparent process,” acquiring the vessel for $67.6 million.
The US says Russian fertilizer billionaire Andrey Guryev bought the vessel in 2014 for $120 million. He has denied he is the owner.
A legal representative for Guryev said that he “neither owns nor controls the Alfa Nero and has simply used the vessel from time to time under commercial charter since 2014.”
Bloomberg estimates Guryev to be worth $9.75 billion. He is the co-founder and largest shareholder of fertilizer giant PhosAgro.
The US Treasury described him as a “known close associate” of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Guryev was also sanctioned by the UK. And his son was sanctioned by the US, the EU, and the UK.
Russian billionaire’s daughter claims she owns superyacht
On Wednesday, lawyers for Yulia Gurieva-Motlokhov, Guryev’s daughter filed an appeal claiming she’s the legal owner of the luxury vessel.
