U.S. wins authority to seize Russian oligarch's planes
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[June 07, 2022] By
Luc Cohen and Karen Freifeld
NEW YORK (Reuters) -A U.S. court on Monday
issued warrants for the seizure of two luxury planes owned by Russian
billionaire Roman Abramovich under U.S. measures imposed after Russia's
invasion of Ukraine, court records showed.
But the U.S. government's likelihood of gaining control of the aircraft
worth nearly $400 million was uncertain.
A Department of Justice official said the $350 million Boeing 787
Dreamliner and $60 million Gulfstream G650 ER were not in U.S. custody,
and the official declined to say if the U.S. government knows their
locations.
A federal judge in Manhattan issued the warrants on the grounds that
recent flights violated U.S. export controls imposed after Russia's
invasion of Ukraine in February. The U.S. Department of Commerce filed
related administrative charges against Abramovich.
But the official said the warrants are likely to dissuade companies from
helping to move the aircraft. U.S. authorities are seeking to pressure
business leaders close to Russian President Vladimir Putin to get him to
halt what Kremlin calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine.
A spokesperson for Abramovich did not immediately respond to a request
for comment. Abramovich has denied having close ties to Putin.
The Commerce Department said that the Gulfstream flew from Istanbul to
Moscow on March 12, left the following day for Tel Aviv and flew from
Istanbul to Moscow again on March 15. The Boeing flew from Dubai to
Moscow on March 4, the department said.
Because the planes were U.S.-made, and the flights took place after
export restrictions went into effect, Abramovich, a Russian national,
would have needed a license from Commerce to fly them to Russia. No
licenses were requested, but an administration official told reporters
the department's policy is to deny such requests.
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Russian billionaire and owner of Chelsea football club Roman
Abramovich arrives at a division of the High Court in central London
October 31, 2011. REUTERS/Andrew Winning/File Photo
The department may seek to fine Abramovich up to $328,121 per unlicensed flight,
or nearly $1 million for the three flights, among other penalties.
"Russian oligarchs such as Abramovich will not be permitted to violate U.S.
export regulations without consequence," Commerce official John Sonderman said
in a statement.
Commerce in March moved to effectively ground Abramovich's Gulfstream, along
with 99 other planes it said had recently traveled to Russia, for allegedly
violating export controls.
Abramovich owns both planes through a series of shell companies registered in
Cyprus, Jersey and the British Virgin Islands, prosecutors said. In February he
reorganized the ownership structure to make his children the beneficiaries of a
trust that ultimately owns both planes.
But he continued effectively to own and control the planes when they flew to
Moscow the next month, according to the Commerce Department.
Abramovich, who helped mediate talks between Moscow and Kyiv during the early
days of the war, has not personally been sanctioned by the United States. He has
been sanctioned by the European Union and Britain.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen and Karen Freifeld in New York; Additional reporting by
Catarina Demony; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Tomasz Janowski and Cynthia Osterman)
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