Grant Shapps bans Russian oligarch’s private jet from flying

Aircraft owned by billionaire Eugene Shvidler ‘deregistered’, says transport secretary

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps standing in front of a grounded private jet (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Wire)

A private jet owned by Russian billionaire Eugene Shvidler has been banned from flying in the UK as part of sanctions in response to the war in Ukraine.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps announced that he has deregistered the aircraft, meaning any certificates in place to permit it to fly have been suspended.

The Cessna aircraft with the tail registration G-LATO is at Biggin Hill Airport, in south-east London, where it was due to undergo maintenance and repairs.

The jet, estimated to be worth £35m, was blocked from leaving on 19 March on the order of Mr Shapps to enable an investigation into its ownership to be carried out.

Mr Shvidler is a friend of Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich. He is a former boss and shareholder in Mr Abramovich’s steel firm Evraz, and his net worth has been estimated at £1.2 billion.

The transport secretary said: “Russian oligarchs who have benefited from Putin’s regime will not be allowed to just go about their business as they were before this completely unprovoked war started.”

Speaking on a visit to Biggin Hill Airport to see the jet, he added: “That’s why we’re actually stripping this off the British aircraft register. This plane will not be going anywhere for the foreseeable future.”

Another plane owned by Mr Shvidler, a Bombardier Global 6500 jet, has been detained at Farnborough Airport in Hampshire since 8 March.

Mr Shapps said finding out who controls private aircraft is often “extremely complex”.

Asked about reports that a private jet held at Luton Airport is linked to Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, Mr Shapps replied: “There are a number of aircraft and some other ships as well, yachts, which we’re working very closely with the authorities on.”

He added: “We won’t hesitate to make sure that we sanction, detain, strip all of these vessels.”

The cabinet minister also announced that all Russian aircraft are now classified as “unairworthy in UK eyes” because “they’re now not being serviced properly” due to sanctions.

The planes were already banned from UK airspace following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

On 29 March, Mr Shapps ordered the detention of the £38m superyacht Phi owned by an unnamed Russian businessman in Canary Wharf, east London.

It comes as the UK government added Vladimir Putin’s two adult daughters to its sanctions list in a move as part of crackdown on the “lavish lifestyles” of the Kremlin’s inner circle.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) announced asset freezes on Katerina Vladimirovna Tikhonova and Maria Vladimirovna Vorontsova on Friday – mirroring US sanctions imposed earlier this week.