Undeterred by Western sanctions, operators of the business jets of Russia's wealthiest oligarchs continue to import spare parts for the aircraft, according to 2023 customs data reviewed by Russia-focused investigative news outlet The Insider.
Gazpromavia (4G, Moscow Ostafyevo), in-house operator of the oil and gas behemoth Gazprom, has imported inflight computer displays and engines manufactured by Honeywell Aerospace as well as icing sensors, worth over USD2 million in total. The operator used a Russian intermediary called Modern Mining Machines LLC to import the parts.
Gazpromavia is only specifically sanctioned in Ukraine but not in the European Union or the United States, although it falls under the blanket ban on exports of aviation parts to Russia. Parent holding Gazprom is also designated in the US but not in the EU.
The operator's fleet comprises two B737-700s, one B737-700(BBJ), four Falcon 7X, two Falcon 8X, two Falcon 900Bs, three Falcon 900EX EASy, two Falcon 900LX, and eight SSJ 100/95LRs.
Customs data also show that Arsenal LLC, a company allegedly linked to sanctioned oligarch Oleg Deripaska, acquired Falcon 7X RA-09618 (msn 274) for USD36.5 million from Kazakhstan's Irtysh Avia in February 2023. The aircraft is currently operated under the code of North-West Aircompany (0E, St. Petersburg).
North-West Aircompany, which is flagged by the US Bureau of Industry and Security but not by the OFAC or the EU, registered an import of a Global 6000 in March 2024. The ch-aviation fleets module shows the operator has added a number of business jets from abroad since 2022, including an ACJ318-100 previously registered in San Marino and a G650 previously registered in Austria in 2022, a Falcon 7X (San Marino) and two Global 6500s (one each from the US and South African registers) in 2023, and two Global 6000s (one each from the US and Chinese registers) and, most recently, an ACJ320-200N in 2024.
The operator's subsidiary, North-West Technics, was importing various Gulfstream spare parts, mostly through China.
Aviatis (TIS, Moscow Sheremetyevo), an operator reportedly affiliated with another US-sanctioned oligarch, Gennady Timchenko, has imported Rockwell Collins gear spares from a Turkish intermediary, Alden Gida San Ve Tic Ltd.
