The Justice Department in the US (DOJ) has announced the unsealing of a warrant for the seizure of a Boeing 737-7JU aircraft owned by Russian oil company Rosneft.
The DOJ said a district court in New York authorised the seizure due to "probable cause that the Boeing aircraft was subject to seizure based on violations of the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) and the recent sanctions issued against Russia".
The aircraft left and re-entered Russia at least seven times in breach of the sanctions, the DOJ claimed, saying the jet is "currently believed" to be in Russia.
The court documents cited the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security issuance of sanctions against Russia that impose export controls and license requirements "to protect US national security and foreign policy interests".
"The Russia sanctions expanded prohibitions on the export, re-export or in-country transfer of, among other things, US-manufactured aircraft to or within Russia without a valid license or license exception for aircraft owned or controlled, or under charter or lease, by Russia and/or Russian nationals," the DOJ said.