"Unlock the keys to your financial future and legacy – <br />Get it now -- https://shorturl.at/fjnKO "<br /><br />-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />Ex-Google CEO May Ditch Bid For Superyacht Linked to Russian Oligarch.<br />The Alfa Nero superyacht could possibly end up in the hands of the second highest bidder due to the ongoing legal delays.<br /><br />Information Minister Melford Nicholas told the post-Cabinet press briefing on Friday that former Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s interest in the vessel is likely to decline.<br /><br />This stems from the government not being able to grant a free title for the vessel, which would ensure that no one else can claim ownership of the boat.<br /><br />“The issue…has to do with whether or not we could grant the assurances of free title to Mr Schmidt, and I think that may be an issue that will cause us to have to turn to a second buyer,” Nicholas said.<br /><br />Schmidt’s decline in interest would mean that the right to purchase the vessel goes to the second-highest bidder who, in the June 16 auction of the vessel, put forward a US$66 million bid.<br /><br />This bid, like the former Google CEO’s bid (US$67.6 million), exceeds the US$60 million minimum sale price the government had assigned after valuing the superyacht at US$115 million.<br /><br />The third bid pledged during the auction, however, falls significantly below the minimum sale price, at US$25 million.<br /><br />On April 11, the 267ft vessel became government property after more than a year in the country’s waters. Currently, the government pays US$28,000 per week to cover expenses related to the vessel, including fuel and crew member salaries.<br /><br />Since the government’s acquisition of the superyacht, a number of legal challenges seeking to prevent the vessel’s sale have been undertaken by Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov who claims to be the vessel’s rightful owner.<br /><br />Guryeva-Motlokhov, daughter of the sanctioned Russian oligarch Andrey Guryev, is the sole beneficiary of a trust that owns the Alfa Nero via a 100 percent shareholding in the BVI-based firm, Flying Dutchman Limited.
