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Antigua Government seeking court ruling as luxury yacht remains unsold

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The Antigua and Barbuda government has hinted at the possibility of going before the London-based Privy Council as it seeks to auction off for the section time the now infamous multi-million dollar luxury yacht, the Alfa Nero.

The government had last year auctioned the 267ft super yacht that its seized in April 2023 to the US-based tech billionaire Eric Schmidt for US$67 million, who later withdrew his bid citing legal delays preventing him from acquiring the right to the vessel.

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The Gaston Browne administration has been plagued by legal challenges, primarily by Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov, the daughter of Russian oligarch Andrey Guryev who claims that the vessel is under her name and the government had no right to seize it.

The boat came to attention when Andrey Guryev, a known close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, appeared on international sanctions lists after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The yacht has been tied up in Falmouth Harbour for almost two years with the government saying it poses both an environmental and a security risk.

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Chief of Staff in the Office of the Prime Minister, Lionel Hurst, told a news conference that the Solicitor General and others have been before the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Privy Council twice “and they are at the stage where we are awaiting a decision of the Appeals Court and it might be they might appeal to the Privy Council’ for a third time.

“Our expectation is that they (the challenges) will forget it because they are not going to win in the court system,” he added.

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In addition to the ongoing court battle, the government is also the other preferred bidder in last June’s auction, Warren Halle, who has sued the government over an alleged failure to adhere to its own auction rules which would have seen him named the preferred bidder after Schmidt failed to pay the money to the government within the agreed seven days, among other issues.

“If the bidding is re-opened and we think we have to re-open the bidding because the second highest bidder had offered US$65 million and …he is now attempting to lower that bid significantly in an effort to get it at a bargain basement rate.

“But that’s not the object of this exercise,” Hurst said.

Media reports here said that the Alfa Nero continues to cost the public, through the Citizenship by Investment fund, US$28,000 weekly in maintenance costs as well as paying salaries for crew members.

No date has yet been given when the new auction will be held. — (CMC)

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REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]