The U.S. on Friday moved to prevent one of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich’s private jets making international flights, along with 99 Boeing aircraft that are believed to violate U.S. export controls.
As part of its sanctions on Russia and the wealthy elite surround President Vladimir Putin, the Biden administration has already banned Russian aircraft from its airspace.
Now the U.S. Commerce Department will use export control measures to warn companies around the world they face jail time or fines if they provide refueling, maintenance services or spare parts to the planes.
The list of 100 aircraft includes 99 Boeing airplanes operated by Russian passenger and cargo carriers including Aeroflot, AirBridge Cargo, Utair, Nordwind, Azur Air and Aviastar-TU, as well as Abramovich’s $65 million Gulfstream G650, which is believed to still be in Moscow.
In a statement, the department said it meant ‘international flights from Russia on these aircraft are effectively grounded.’
It is the latest blow to the 55-year-old billionaire, who made his fortune buying up discounted state assets after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
He has been hit by a string of sanctions in the U.K. and E.U. thanks to his close relationship with Putin, and scrambled to divest before the asset freeze hit.
He put Chelsea Football Club up for sale, and staff are said to have been ready for viewings at his 15-bedroom $195 million (£150m) mansion at Kensington Palace Gardens, London, and a three-storey penthouse at Chelsea Waterfront.
Sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich was spotted in a VIP lounge on Monday before he left Tel Aviv for Istanbul. Flight tracking data shows his Gulf Stream then flew from Istanbul to Moscow on Tuesday, where it is believed to remain
Abramovich’s Gulfstream – like the one pictured here – is valued at about $65 million and is effectively barred from international travel, according to the Department of Commerce
Abramovich’s Gulfstream heads the list of 100 sanctioned planes issued by the Department of Commerce on Friday. Officials said it effectively means it cannot leave Russia
Flight tracking data show that the plane, with tail sign LX-RAY, flew from Istanbul, Turkey, to Moscow and the safety of Russian airspace on Tuesday
Abramovich himself is now believed to be in Moscow.
He cannot enter the U.K. or E.U.
He was spotted on Monday in the departure lounge of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport – he has Russian and Israeli citizenship – and is believed to have flown from Israel to Istanbul.
The latest flight tracking data suggested his Gulfstream plane picked him up in Turkey arriving in Moscow on Tuesday.
It was one of a number of Russian planes spotted in Israel in recent days, apparently alerting U.S. authorities to its role as a bolthole for oligarchs.
At the weekend, US Undersecretary of state for political affairs Victoria Nuland warned Israel: ‘You don’t want to become the last haven for dirty money that’s fueling Putin’s wars.’
His super yachts are also on the move – My Solaris, worth $560 million (£430m), was moored in Barcelona a week ago but is now off the coast of Algeria; Eclipse, worth $704 million (£540m) is currently in open sea off the coast of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean.
Along with other oligarchs, he has seen his world turned upside down since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine and the West launched an economic stranglehold on Moscow.
Abramovich’s luxury lifestyle is being squeezed by EU and UK sanctions – and now the US has moved to prevent his Gulfstream plane from making international flights
Abramovich made his fortune buying up discounted state assets after the collapse of the Soviet Union and was one of the oligarchs that make up Russia’s wealthy elite. The West has imposed sanctions on them in an attempt to put pressure on Vladimir Putin
The billionaire’s superyacht Solaris was seen off Tivat, Montenegro, at the start of the week, but amid a seizure threat it was last spotted motoring towards Turkey
Eclipse was last seen off Gibraltar last week and was last seen making its way through the Med past Libya and Tunisia
U.S. lawmakers had also stepped up calls for Washington to add its weight to the pressure on Abramovich.
‘We request that Abramovich be sanctioned as a matter of urgency,’ wrote members of Congress.
‘His blood money helps fuel Putin’s unprovoked and illegal war against Ukraine.’
It came after investigators at State Street bank in Boston claimed that more than a billion dollars of his in cash had been funneled through offshore companies into the US from 2001 to 2016, BuzzFeed News reported.
On Friday U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimando said: ‘Today, the Department of Commerce is demonstrating the power and reach of the actions we took over the past few weeks in response to Russia’s brutal war of choice against Ukraine.’
‘We are publishing this list to put the world on notice – we will not allow Russian and Belarusian companies and oligarchs to travel with impunity in violation of our laws.”
The department published specific tail numbers of the planes, including 33 Boeing planes operated by Aeroflot , and 12 Boeing 747 cargo planes operated by AirBridge Cargo, a unit of Volga-Dnepr Group.
Aeroflot, AirBridge and a spokesperson for Abramovich, who owns the English soccer club Chelsea, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The United States, Canada and much of Europe have barred Russian planes from flying over their airspace, which has forced the cancellation of much of Russia’s international flights.
The rules apply to any U.S. manufactured aircraft or any with more than 25% U.S.-origin controlled content that were re-exported to Russia after the new stringent controls on aviation-related items for Russia took effect on Feb. 24.
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