British officials were on Wednesday investigating possible links between Russian billionaire Eugene Shvidler and a private jet impounded by the authorities after it landed in the UK, as part of a further tightening of the Russian sanctions regime.
The move to prevent the jet from departing came after the UK government announced wide-ranging powers to detain any aircraft in the UK deemed to have links to Russian nationals. It also made it a criminal offence for any aircraft with Russian links to enter UK airspace.
The Department for Transport has grounded a private jet, which had flown in from New Jersey with permission from UK air traffic control, while officials “investigate further” potential links of the ownership of the aircraft to Russian billionaire Eugene Shvidler, as part of the Russian sanctions regime.
The aircraft is registered in Luxembourg and is operated by Global Jet.