Jets linked to Russian oligarchs appear to have kept flying despite sanctions

The investigation, in collaboration with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), identified and tracked jets linked to sanctioned businesspeople and officials including Roman Abramovich, Alisher Usmanov and Igor Shuvalov, a former Russian deputy prime minister.

While some plane movements appeared to comply with airspace bans and sanctions, including asset freezes, others appeared to escape restrictions.

Guardian analysis also showed jets linked to Russians under sanctions flew to the   in greater numbers during the week after the start of the invasion than any other week of 2022.

The UAE is popular with Russians as a finance and leisure centre.

The second jet left Florence in Italy the same day and was also heading towards Uzbekistan when the transponder signal was lost over Turkmenistan.

A spokesperson for Usmanov said sanctions against him were based on “incorrect” assumptions about his relationship with the Kremlin, adding that his assets, including private jets, had been transferred to irrevocable trusts long before sanctions were imposed against the billionaire.

deny there was any wrongdoing or attempt to avoid any assets being sanctioned,” the spokesperson said. “Given the fact that the MI-ABU jet you invoked is not owned or controlled by Mr Usmanov, and could only be used by him on lease terms, there is no legal grounds for any ban on it in relation to the individual sanctions imposed against him.

“Regarding compliance with the rules of aircraft departures, our detailed legal analysis found no violations. To the best of our knowledge, the departure was made in accordance with the permission of the authorised authority of the country from which the aircraft departed.”

The spokesperson did not respond to an inquiry about whether Usmanov was onboard either of the flights.

While some of the jets remain out of the reach of authorities despite being linked to oligarchs under sanctions, other aircraft have already been seized or barred from flying.