US Obtains Warrant To Seize Boeing 737 Owned By Russia’s Rosneft

The United States obtained a warrant to seize a Boeing 737 aircraft owned by Russian oil company Rosneft that is valued at over $25 million, the U.S. Justice Department said.The US District Court for the Eastern District of New York authorized the seizure on March 8, 2023.

“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,” stated United States Attorney Peace. https://t.co/IPZdIjBmLW

— US Attorney EDNY (@EDNYnews) March 8, 2023

Authorities were given the go-ahead to seize the jet based on violations of the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) and the recent sanctions issued against Russia, aerotime reported.

Rosneft’s CEO, Igor Ivanovich Sechin, is a close friend of the Russian President Vladimir Putin and was sanctioned along with multiple oligarchs in 2022. The sanctions impose export controls and license requirements to protect US national security and foreign policy interests.

Since February 2022, when the export controls that prevent US-built planes re-entry into Russia went into effect, the Boeing 737 has left and reentered the country at least seven times.

“By violating Commerce Department export controls, Rosneft has converted its jet into contraband,” Andrew Adams, a Justice Department official, said.

The Boeing jet was last in the United States in March 2014, and is currently believed to be in, or traveling to or from, Russia, according to Reuters.

“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,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said.