The flights into Russia violated export controls imposed in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which include restrictions on the export of civil aircraft components. Besides Abramovich's plane, the infringing aircraft are operated by Aeroflot, AirBridgeCargo, Aviastar-TU, Azur Air, Nordwind and Utair.
Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security added that individuals who service the aircraft in question, including refueling, maintenance and repair, without agency approval could also risk significant jail time, fines and other restrictions.
"Today, the Department of Commerce is demonstrating the power and reach of the actions we took over the past few weeks in response to Russia's brutal war of choice against Ukraine," Commerce Secretary Gina M. Raimondo said in a Friday statement. "We are publishing this list to put the world on notice — we will not allow Russian and Belarusian companies and oligarchs to travel with impunity in violation of our laws."
The export controls announced by the Biden administration in February curbed the export of sensitive technologies, including semiconductors and microelectronics, computer and information security products, telecommunications equipment, marine components, lasers, sensors and aircraft parts. The U.S. tagged Belarus with similar restrictions in early March to prevent the country from rerouting covered technology to Russia.
Under Export Administration Regulations, BIS exercises jurisdiction over certain items and the U.S. government's jurisdiction travels with those parts.
Commerce reiterated Friday that under the recently unveiled controls, any aircraft manufactured in the U.S. or manufactured abroad with more than 25% American-made parts could not be sold or transferred to Russia without a license.
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP partner and former Assistant Commerce Secretary Kevin Wolf told Law360 that the enforcement of the export controls sends a signal to the rest of the world.
"[Commerce's enforcement] is part of coordinated ally action to impose sanctions over things that are important to Putin and his oligarchs and this is a really effective way to do it; by shutting down not only the flight of aircraft but also providing support to them if they're owned by the Russian government," Wolf said.
The enforcement measure covers 99 Boeing models and Abramovich's Gulfstream G650ER. Each of the six carriers affected is headquartered in Russia.
"The actions we have taken to date have isolated Russia and Belarus from the global economy, and I hope that today's action brings that fact home to the Russian businesses and oligarchs that seek to continue their operations," Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves added in a Friday statement.
President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. will ban Russian aircraft from American airspace during his State of the Union address earlier this month.
The Boeing Co. has already suspended support services in Russia, including providing spare parts, engineering services and pilot training.
Representatives for Aeroflot, AirBridgeCargo, Aviastar-TU, Azur Air, Nordwind and Utair did not respond to requests for comment on Friday afternoon.
--Additional reporting by Linda Chiem, Daniel Wilson and Alyssa Aquino. Editing by Vaqas Asghar.
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