Canada updates seizure order for Volga-Dnepr's An-124

The Canadian government has updated and replaced the previous seizure order for RA-82078 (msn 9773054559153), a Volga-Dnepr Airlines (VI, Ulyanovsk Vostochny) An-124-100 which was detained at Toronto Pearson on February 28, 2022, amid international sanctions imposed on Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It now acknowledges ownership of the aircraft by multiple entities, including foreign subsidiaries of Volga-Dnepr Group.

This is a step forward to ensure the Canadian government has “everything it needs when it moves to court,” the Canadian Press news agency reported, citing people knowledgeable about the matter.

The government said in a statement that it is moving to ensure that “the property be permanently forfeited to the Crown.” It added: “It is necessary to update the order respecting the seizure of the Antonov 124 aircraft located at Toronto Pearson International Airport to include additional persons believed to own, hold or control - directly or indirectly - that property.”

Ownership of RA-82078 is now attributed to multiple entities, including Volga-Dnepr Airlines (Ireland) Limited, Volga-Dnepr Logistics B.V., Sberbank, Volga-Dnepr Airlines, Volga-Dnepr Group, and the group's sanctioned co-founder Aleksey Isaikin, according to the order published in the Canada Gazette.

In June 2023, Ottawa issued a formal cabinet order to seize the plane, ahead of a formal court process to have it forfeited to the Crown. However, the government retracted its original order a few months later and revised it so that it applies to foreign subsidiaries of the Volga-Dnepr company.

In the meantime, Volga-Dnepr Airlines filed lawsuits and launched an investment arbitration proceeding at the ICC International Court of Arbitration against the Canadian government over what it saw as the “expropriation” of its aircraft. No further update regarding this proceeding has since been publicised.

Volga-Dnepr Airlines was not immediately available for comment.

RA-82078 has been grounded in Toronto since February 2022, accruing airport parking fees.