US Department of Justice authorizes seizure of $25M Boeing 737-700 BBJ owned by Russian oil company Rosneft.

The Aircraft in this subject is a 2011 made Boeing B737-7JU(BBJ) , which is a business jet registered as RA-73455. The press release indicates that aircraft is going to get seized on violations of the United States Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) and the recent sanctions issued against Russia.

The plane was last in the US in 2014, according to the statement from the US Attorney’s Office for New York’s Eastern District. But the USA alleges the plane has flown in and out of Russia “at least seven times, in violation of federal law”.

Now, the United States has obtained a warrant for the seizure of the Boeing 737-7JU aircraft owned by PJSC Rosneft Oil Company (Rosneft), a Russian integrated energy company headquartered in Moscow, Russia, headed by Igor Ivanovich Sechin.

• Rosneft’s chief executive officer, Igor Ivanovich Sechin, was previously sanctioned by the US in 2014 for his ties to the Russian government.
• At that time, the then-US President Barack Obama had issued an executive order aimed at individuals deemed to be “responsible for or complicit in” attempts to undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and democracy.
• That particular year, Russia had annexed the peninsula of Crimea and attempted to seize territory in Ukraine’s eastern provinces. The sanctions froze Sechin’s assets in the US and barred anyone in the country from conducting business with him.

Based on the release, it's being learnt that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York has authorized the seizure, finding probable cause that the Boeing aircraft was subject to seizure based on violations of the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) and the recent sanctions issued against Russia, mentioned earlier.

The Aircraft was earlier registered as OE-IRF , On 28 March 22 , the registration changed to RA-73455 , under the Russian state Regisrty.

US Attorney Breon Peace said in the press release,

“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 the Ukraine.”

Grounds Of  The Seizure ? 

According to court documents, 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 sanctions impose export controls and license requirements to protect U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.

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. 

Specifically, since February 2022, when the export controls that bar the United States-built plane’s re-entry to Russia 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.  

The Alleged Movement - the warranted RA-73455 Aircraft Entry and Exit  to and from  Russia.

Rosneft – which is headed by Igor Ivanovich Sechin – owns the Boeing aircraft. The Boeing was flown from a foreign country to Russia in violation of the ECRA and regulations issued thereunder, including the Russia sanctions. The Boeing (pictured below) is believed to be worth approximately $25 million.

The FBI and Department of Commerce are investigating the seizure matter. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance.

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 U.S. Attorney Francisco J. Navarro, Tara B. McGrath and Madeline M. O’Connor, and Trial Attorney Barbara Levy are leading the seizure matter.

The investigation was coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export controls and economic countermeasures that the United States, along with its foreign allies and partners, has imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine.

Russian oligarchs flew 100s of their business jets to Al Maktoum International Airport , Dubai to avoid being seized due to international sanctions.

As per an Announcement made by the Attorney General on March 2, 2022, and under the leadership of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the task force will continue to leverage all of the department’s tools and authorities to combat efforts to evade or undermine the collective actions taken by the U.S. government in response to Russian military aggression.

Earlier In August 2022, the USA had issued a similar warrant for another US-built, Russian-owned aircraft, a Boeing 737-7EM, owned by a Russian multinational energy company, the Moscow-based PJSC Lukoil Oil Company and the aircraft was accused of flying in and out of Russia in violation of US sanctions.

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Source : US Department of Justice