Russia’s oligarchs have managed to continue to fly despite sanctions with the help of shell companies and offshore companies that help hide the real owners.
EU airspace should be virtually closed to Russian aircraft. But wealthy Russians are getting away with the flight ban. This was reported by Welt.
According to the publication, a total of about 30 such flights have been identified since the sanctions were imposed.
For example, German authorities were shocked on the first day of the airspace closure – on February 28 at 18:20, an Airbus flew from Munich Airport, which, according to the US sanctions list, was attributed to oligarch Alisher . Usmanov. Usmanov’s plane flew from Florence the same day for Tashkent in Uzbekistan.
In addition, in mid -March, the flight of the Cessna aircraft of Russian billionaire Yevgeny Shvidler, a friend of Roman Abramovich, was suspended in Britain. Before being confiscated in London, his plane flew several more times in German airspace.
Enforcing sanctions against business jets and helicopters registered outside Russia and owned by non-Russian companies is sometimes difficult due to unclear ownership structures, the European Commission said. Thus, the Russian oligarchs managed to circumvent the ban with the help of shell companies and offshore companies that help hide the real owners.
An example is the Bombardier aircraft, registration T7-7AA, registered in San Marino and operated by a Swiss company. It is owned by Russian businessman Albert Avdolyan, who flew from Nice to Istanbul on March 2.
Another plane registered in Luxembourg, owned by oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, also left Europe in April. The plane flew from Basel, crossed EU airspace and landed in Nur-Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan.
In addition, the helicopter of billionaire Alexander Zanadvorov seems to be flying around France without a hitch. Since the penalties were imposed, at least eight flights have been recorded.
Recall, earlier it was reported that Gazprom and other large Russian companies could avoid sanctions by Turkey.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.