Russian Oligarch's $90M Jet Will Be Seized, NYC Feds Say

NEW YORK CITY — A Russian oligarch's $90 million airplane will be seized as part of sanctions leveled amid the invasion of Ukraine, prosecutors announced Monday.

A seizure warrant gives federal authorities the right to seize an Airbus owned by Andrei Skoch, who is part of Russia's State Duma and is designated on sanctions lists as an oligarch with "longstanding ties" to organized criminal groups, according to court documents.

Skoch tried to evade sanctions, said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.

“Today’s affidavit and warrant authorizing the seizure of Andrei Skoch’s private airplane demonstrate the Southern District’s partnership commitment with the task force to pursuing sanctioned Russian oligarchs and their blocked property," Williams said in a statement.

An affidavit lays out a complicated set of shell companies and financial transactions that federal authorities said Skoch used to conceal his ownership of the Airbus.

Skoch is named on sanctions lists drawn up after Russia's invasions of Crimea and Ukraine, according to the documents. After he was added to those lists, his name started to disappear from records related to the Airbus, the affidavit states.

For instance, he flew at least 53 times on the Airbus between January 2017 and April 2018, the documents state.

"Following Skoch’s designation, Skoch’s name no longer appears on flight records for the Airbus, which suggests an attempt to conceal Skoch’s connection to and ownership of the Airbus," the documents states.