© Reuters.
By Kanishka Singh and Katharine Jackson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Wednesday obtained a warrant to seize a Boeing (NYSE:) jet owned by Russian oil company Rosneft that is valued at more than $25 million, the US Department of Justice said.
The US District Court for the Eastern District of New York authorized the seizure, based on violations of export controls and sanctions against Russia, the Justice Department said.
Western sanctions against Russia over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022 have impeded global trade and hampered the financial capabilities of Russian oil companies. Rosneft Chief Executive Igor Sechin, a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been sanctioned by the United States.
Since the sanctions took effect, the US-made Boeing 737-7JU plane has left and re-entered Russia at least seven times, the Justice Department said.
“By violating Commerce Department export controls, Rosneft has turned its jet into contraband,” said Andrew Adams, a Justice Department official.
The Boeing plane was last in the United States in March 2014 and is believed to be in Russia or traveling to or from Russia, the Justice Department added.
“Today’s enforcement action demonstrates that Russian companies and oligarchs are paying a price for flagrantly evading the sanctions the United States has imposed in response to the unwarranted war against the people of Ukraine,” said US Attorney Breon Peace.
