The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has removed Emperor Aviation (EMM, Malta International) from its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list alongside eight private jets linked to it.
A statement issued on May 3 said only that Emperor Aviation Ltd and the following aircraft:
- Global 5000 9H-AMN (msn 9324);
- Global 5000 9H-TIO (msn 9813);
- Global 6500 9H-ARK (msn 60011);
- Citation XLS+ 9H-EAA (msn 560-6170) (but now flying with Heli Air (HLR, Sofia) as LZ-CVB as of August 2023);
- Global Express XRS 9H-MAO (msn 9223);
- Challenger 650 9H-SIS (msn 6050); and
- G650 9H-SSK (msn 6195)
had all been removed from the SDN. G650 9H-OKO (msn 6356) was removed in January, OFAC records show. No reason was given for any of the moves.
Emperor Aviation was designated in November 2022 for ties to Suleiman Kerimov - a Russian oligarch close to President Vladimir Putin - and his family, in particular daughter Gulnara Kerimova.
The Maltese operator was not immediately available for comment.
