The United States Department of Justice unsealed a warrant to seize a B737-700(BBJ), RA-73455 (msn 38855), owned by Russian state-owned oil and gas conglomerate Rosneft for alleged multiple violations of export sanctions.
The US District Court for the Eastern District of New York authorised the seizure due to probable cause that the aircraft violated the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) and recent sanctions imposed on Russia. Specifically, the US authorities identified at least seven occasions on which the Boeing executive jet left Russia and then re-entered the country. US-made aircraft covered by sanctions are not allowed to enter Russia from abroad.
Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows the jet has been deployed from Russia to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, India, and the Maldives over the last year. The 11.4-year-old aircraft is operated for Rosneft by Ural Airlines (U6, Ekaterinburg) and is based at Moscow Vnukovo airport. The same carrier also operates another B737-700(BBJ) on behalf of Lukoil-Avia (LUK, Moscow Sheremetyevo), according to the ch-aviation fleets module.
Both Rosneft and its chairman, Igor Sechin, are designated by the US. Sechin is also sanctioned in multiple other countries.
