The US District Court for the Southern District of Texas has authorised a seizure warrant for a B737-700(BBJ) operated by Russia's Lukoil-Avia (LUK, Moscow Sheremetyevo) for alleged violations of US sanctions.
The US Department of Justice underlined that VP-CLR (msn 34865) is subject to sweeping sanctions imposed on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine earlier in the year. As such, it is currently unlawful to export or reexport aircraft, spare parts, or aviation-related services to Russia. Despite these restrictions, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows the aircraft flew from Moscow Sheremetyevo to Dubai World Central on March 8, 2022, and returned to Moscow four days later.
"At all relevant times, a Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) licence or licence exception was required under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) for the export or reexport of the Boeing to Russia. No application was made to BIS for a licence to reexport the Boeing to or from Russia, including for the flights on March 8, 2022, and March 12, 2022," US Department of Commerce Special Agent Gina Makowski testified in a deposition.
VP-CLR is believed to be in Russia. But while the seizure warrant is only applicable to the US jurisdiction, using bilateral treaties in effect, the DOJ can ask other countries to enforce its claim if the aircraft lands there. Recently, the US administration used this mechanism to seize an Emtrasur Cargo B747-300M which had landed at Buenos Aires Ministro Pistarini in Argentina.
The business jet is the only one operated by Lukoil-Avia and is used exclusively for corporate charters on behalf of its petro-giant parent, Lukoil.
