Wealthy Russian allies of President Vladimir Putin continue to fly aboard Western-made luxury business jets despite sanctions imposed after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation published Saturday.
The report found that sanctioned figures including Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov, oligarch Arkady Rotenberg, and businessman Igor Kesaev have maintained access to high-end Bombardier and Gulfstream aircraft through a network of brokers, intermediary firms, and overseas registrations.
Chemezov, a longtime Putin associate and former KGB colleague, has reportedly used a $75 million Bombardier Global 7500 for multiple trips to destinations including the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Southeast Asia.
Flight-tracking records reviewed by the Journal show he made roughly six trips to the UAE between October 2025 and January 2026.
According to aviation data reviewed by the newspaper, many aircraft are purchased secondhand, registered in jurisdictions such as the UAE, Oman, Kazakhstan, and South Africa, and then transferred for use in Russia.
"We have been noticing that some European companies appear to operate in a gray legal area by supplying aircraft to third parties that eventually sell them to Russia," said Marija Verovic, vice president of marketing at aviation research firm Ch-Aviation.
The Journal reported that several aircraft linked to Russian elites were previously managed by Vienna-based aviation company Avcon before moving into Russian ownership.
In a statement, the company said, "The Avcon Jet Group strictly adheres to EU and U.S. sanctions laws."
Sanctions experts told the Journal that companies in North America and Europe are required to conduct due diligence to prevent aircraft and aircraft parts from reaching Russia, and that some transfers may violate both export restrictions and sanctions targeting specific individuals.
Bombardier said it maintains "a robust and comprehensive compliance program" and "takes all reasonable measures to help ensure aircraft aren’t sold or serviced in violation of applicable laws, sanctions or export controls."
The investigation also found that Russia has continued importing Western goods despite sanctions.
John E. Smith, former director of the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, said enforcement has become less of a priority under President Trump’s second administration.
"Implementing sanctions is like a game of whack-a-mole: It takes significant enforcement efforts to track the evasion and find ways to combat it, and this administration has decided not to focus on increasing sanctions pressure against Russia," Smith said.