Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt backs out of plans to buy Russian oligarch billionaire’s $67.6 million Alfa Nero yacht – complete with baby grand piano and swimming pool that turns into a helipad
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has pulled out of the purchase of a superyacht abandoned in Antigua for a year by its Russian billionaire owner.
According to Ronald Sanders, Antigua and Barbuda’s ambassador to the US, the 68-year-old withdrew his winning bid of $67.6 million for the Alfa Nero a few days ago.
Schmidt had won an auction for the luxury vessel in June, but the deal has since been mired in legal trouble Bloomberg.
The sale of the boat, which can accommodate twelve guests, was challenged in court by the owner’s daughter, Russian fertilizer billionaire Andrei Guryev.
In an interview with the outlet last week, Sanders said, “Schmidt came to the conclusion because of the legal wrangling that we couldn’t give him a clear title to the ship. That is not right, because the ship is ours, it is the property of the government.’
Eric Schmidt, pictured here, on Center Stage during day two of Collision 2022 at the Enercare Center in Toronto, Canada
The sale of the boat, which can accommodate twelve guests and accommodate 26 staff, was seized after the Russian invasion of Ukraine
People close to the former Google boss, who has a net worth of $26.7 billion, told the newspaper that properties subject to lawsuits are not free and clear.
The 267-foot yacht comes complete with a swimming pool that turns into a helipad and was abandoned in Falmouth Harbor in Antigua in March 2022.
It was left at the port after the US Treasury Department sanctioned Guryev, 63, over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.
The US government had previously said the Alfa Nero had been identified as belonging to Guryev, which he bought for $120 million in 2014, and that the hardware for tracking the boat’s location had been disabled to prevent seizure.
While he denied ownership of the superyacht, his daughter, Yulia Gurieva-Motlokhov, later stepped forward to claim it.
After the government lifted sanctions on the ship, officials in Antigua auctioned it off, despite Gurieva-Motlokhov’s attempts to block the sale.
Bloomberg reported that its lawyers subsequently appealed to the courts in Antigua to annul the transaction.
Guryev is a known close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
Guryev, pictured here, is the founder of PhosAgro, a leading Russian chemical company, one of the world’s largest producers of phosphate fertilizers
The Alfa Nero was built in 2007 by the Dutch shipyard Oceanco and has a living area of 4000 square meters
The sale of the boat, which comes with a wing, was challenged in court by the daughter of owner Andrey Guryev
The yacht also features a 3 by 10 meter swimming pool that can be transformed into a dance floor or a helipad
OFAC said he previously served in the Russian government from 2001 to 2013.
Guryev is the founder of PhosAgro, a leading Russian chemical company, which is one of the world’s largest producers of phosphate fertilizers.
The Alfa Nero was built in 2007 by the Dutch shipyard Oceanco and has a living area of 4,000 square meters.
The yacht features a 12 by 10 meter swimming pool that can be transformed into a dance floor or a helipad.
On board, 26 staff members are responsible for those staying on the ship Yacht charter fleet can cost $870,000 per week in the summer.