US obtains warrant to seize $45M airplane owned by Russian energy firm

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - The US has obtained a warrant for the seizure of an airplane owned by Russian multinational oil and natural gas firm Lukoil, the US Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

It said the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas authorized the seizure, finding probable cause that the $45 million worth Boeing 737-7EM aircraft is subject to seizure based on violations of federal law.

The Justice Department said the Boeing aircraft flew into and out of Russia in violation of the US Department of Commerce's sanctions against Moscow.

"The Boeing last flew into the United States in March 2019 when the plane flew from overseas to Houston, Texas with LUKOIL officials, including a Russian oligarch – then LUKOIL president and CEO Vagit Alekperov – on board the aircraft," it said in a statement.

"Since September 2014, LUKOIL has been subject to sectoral sanctions imposed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control," it added.

Due to the war in Ukraine, Washington's expanded sanctions on Moscow now include prohibitions on the export, reexport or in-country transfer of US-manufactured aircraft to or within Russia without a valid license or license exception, according to the statement.