Photo: Boeing
New court documents reveal the fact that Roman Abramovich made certain moves in order to prevent his assets from getting into the hands of authorities as soon as Russia invaded Ukraine. His two jaw-dropping private jets that are currently targeted by the U.S. have apparently been transferred to his children.
Earlier this week, U.S. officials announced that they are going after the famous Russian mogul’s two private jets, classified as “tainted assets.” The former Chelsea FC owner had been sanctioned by the EU and the UK as early as March but hadn’t been on the Biden administration’s blacklist. So the seizure warrant granted this week came us a surprise for some, months after the war in Ukraine broke out.
The two jets targeted by the OFAC (U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control) are a Gulfstream G650ER, estimated at $60 million, and a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. The Dreamliner is considered the world’s largest private jet, worth hundreds of millions. With the added cost of the customization (Abramovich is known for the highly-detailed, opulent customization of his luxury toys, including top-level security features), it’s said to be worth around $350 million.
The billionaire tried to prevent these two jets from getting seized even before the official sanctions were announced, Insider reports. FBI agents allege that the legal ownership of the jets was transferred to Abramovich’s children back in March. According to the court documents that supported the application for the recent seizure warrant, the oligarch’s children became the beneficiaries of two trusts that control an entire network of companies based in various locations around the globe.
This implies that the former football boss tries to protect his luxury jets through various means – their ownership was changed, and they were also flown to safe-havens. The Dreamliner is allegedly hiding out in Dubai (with the UAE risking sanctions itself for helping Russian oligarchs hide their assets), while the Gulfstream is apparently safe in Moscow.
Entangled ownership has been a major issue with Russian-linked assets, which made seizing them much more difficult for the international authorities. The U.S. officials have finally succeeded in sailing the Amadea “trophy” away from Fiji, but it’s uncertain whether they’ll have the same success with the world’s largest private jet.
The two jets targeted by the OFAC (U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control) are a Gulfstream G650ER, estimated at $60 million, and a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. The Dreamliner is considered the world’s largest private jet, worth hundreds of millions. With the added cost of the customization (Abramovich is known for the highly-detailed, opulent customization of his luxury toys, including top-level security features), it’s said to be worth around $350 million.
The billionaire tried to prevent these two jets from getting seized even before the official sanctions were announced, Insider reports. FBI agents allege that the legal ownership of the jets was transferred to Abramovich’s children back in March. According to the court documents that supported the application for the recent seizure warrant, the oligarch’s children became the beneficiaries of two trusts that control an entire network of companies based in various locations around the globe.
This implies that the former football boss tries to protect his luxury jets through various means – their ownership was changed, and they were also flown to safe-havens. The Dreamliner is allegedly hiding out in Dubai (with the UAE risking sanctions itself for helping Russian oligarchs hide their assets), while the Gulfstream is apparently safe in Moscow.
Entangled ownership has been a major issue with Russian-linked assets, which made seizing them much more difficult for the international authorities. The U.S. officials have finally succeeded in sailing the Amadea “trophy” away from Fiji, but it’s uncertain whether they’ll have the same success with the world’s largest private jet.
Google News