The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, headquartered in Brooklyn, has authorized the seizure of a Boeing 737-7JU aircraft owned by PJSC Rosneft Oil Company (Rosneft), a Russian integrated energy company headquartered in Moscow and headed by Igor Ivanovich Sechin.
The court found probable cause that the Boeing aircraft was subject to seizure based on violations of the Export Control Reform Act and the recent sanctions issued against Russia.
Breon Peace, United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Task Force KleptoCapture Director Andrew C. Adams; Michael J. Driscoll, assistant director-in-charge, FBI, New York Field Office; and Jonathan Carson, special agent-in-charge, U.S. Department of Commerce, announced the seizure warrant.
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in February 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security issued sanctions against Russia. The Russia sanctions expanded prohibitions on the export, reexport or in-country transfer of, among other things, U.S.-manufactured aircraft to or within Russia without a valid license or license exception for aircraft owned or controlled, or under charter or lease, by Russia and/or Russian nationals.
In this case, these sanctions bar a plane that was built or manufactured in the United States from entering Russia without a valid license.
Since February 2022, when the sanctions went into effect, the plane has left and reentered Russia at least seven times in violation of federal law. The Boeing jet, which was manufactured in the United States, was last in the United States in March 2014 and is currently believed to be in, or traveling to or from, Russia.
Rosneft — which is headed by sanctioned oligarch Igor Ivanovich Sechin — owns the Boeing aircraft. The Boeing was flown from a foreign country to Russia in violation of regulations. The aircraft is believed to be valued at over $25 million.
“Today’s enforcement action demonstrates there is a price to pay for Russian companies and oligarchs that flagrantly evade sanctions that the United States has imposed in response to the unjustified war against the people of Ukraine,” said U.S. Attorney Peace.
“By violating Commerce Department export controls, Rosneft has converted its jet into contraband. Today’s unsealing provides a roadmap to those in the private sector and to our foreign partners who are committed to upholding the rule of law — and to stifling the Russian state’s efforts to wage an illegal war — who will refuse to provide refuge and support to the operators of this aircraft as the United States pursues its seizure and forfeiture in aid of Ukraine,” said Task Force KleptoCapture Director Adams.
The government’s case is being investigated by the Eastern District of New York’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section and the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Francisco J. Navarro, Tara B. McGrath and Madeline M. O’Connor are investigating the case in partnership with Trial Attorney Barbara Levy.
