The daughter of a Russian oligarch prevented the former CEO of Google from buying a sanctioned yacht

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has backed out of buying a Russian oligarch’s superyacht, which he bought at auction in June.

Ex-CEO of Google Eric Schmidt refused to buy Russian oligarch Andrey Guryev’s superyacht Alfa Nero, which had been abandoned in Antigua for more than a year, according to Bloomberg.

Antigua and Barbuda’s ambassador to the United States, Ronald Sanders, said Schmidt withdrew his $67.6 million winning bid for the Alfa Nero a few days ago. In June, Schmidt won the auction for the sanctioned vessel, but Guryev’s daughter later challenged the deal in court.

“Due to the legal wrangling, Schmidt decided we couldn’t give him clear title to the vessel,” Sanders commented.

It will be recalled that in June, the former CEO of Google Eric Schmidt bought at an auction the superyacht Alfa Nero, confiscated from the Russian billionaire Andrey Guryev.

Superyacht Alfa Nero is registered in the Cayman Islands through an opaque offshore company. The vessel includes a 12-meter swimming pool, jacuzzi, spa, beauty salon and helipad. The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) determined that Guryev bought a yacht for $120 million in 2014. The vessel was repeatedly used by the oligarch’s family. Instead, Guriev himself denies that he is the owner of Alfa Nero.

Reference: Andrey Guryev is the general director of the Russian fertilizer company PhosAgro. Guryev’s fortune is estimated at tens of billions of dollars. The businessman is currently under sanctions from the EU, USA, Great Britain, Australia and Canada.