9th August, 2022
Russian oligarch, Andrei Vladimirovich Skoch has lost to the United States his private plane, after monthslong pursuit of sanctioned Russian oligarchs and their blocked property.
A judge authorised the U.S. on Monday to seize the Airbus A319-100 worth $90 million, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams announced.
This comes as the U.S. also targets Skoch’s $156 million superyacht, the Madame Gu. The 324-foot yacht has a helicopter pad, gym, beach club and elevator.
Skoch, a steel magnate, is one of the wealthiest men in Russia’s Duma, or parliament.
His fortune is valued at about $6.6 billion, according to Forbes. The U.S. Treasury first sanctioned Skoch in April 2018 over his ties to organized crime and for being “a deputy of the Russian Federation’s State Duma.”
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued additional sanctions against Skoch and his assets, including by identifying the Airbus in June as property in which Skoch had an interest, according to a release from law enforcement authorities.
The warrant to seize the plane, which is now in Kazakhstan, was signed by U.S. District Judge Robert W. Lehrburger in New York after a federal agent submitted an affidavit explaining how Skoch is the owner of the Airbus through a series of shell companies and trusts tied to his romantic partner. Authorities said the jet is worth more than $90 million.
“Once again U.S. law enforcement has demonstrated that international shell games will not suffice to hide the fruits of corruption and money laundering,” said Andrew C. Adams, director of a task force pursing the assets of Russian oligarchs.
In June, Treasury issued additional sanctions against Skoch and his assets, banning American entities from conducting business with his superyacht.
The yacht is registered in the Cayman Islands but has most recently been docked at Port Rashid in Dubai. Skoch is also sanctioned by the European Union.
The United Arab Emirates has not taken sides after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has welcomed the influx of Russian money to its beachfront villas and luxury hotels. The UAE has become a safe haven for some Russian oligarchs to park their assets.
In June, a U.S. court ordered the seizure of two aircraft worth over $400 million believed to be owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. A court filing said that the former Chelsea soccer club owner’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner was in the UAE.