Russian Oligarchs Acquire Canadian Jets Despite Western Sanctions

Despite sweeping international sanctions intended to cripple Russia’s aviation industry after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, dozens of Canadian-built aircraft have surfaced in the country. Import records show that at least 34 Canadian-made business jets and commercial aircraft have entered Russia since sanctions took effect. Many of these planes were built by Bombardier and De Havilland and moved through the global secondary market before appearing in Russia.

Flight data, aviation industry documents, and leaked border-crossing records reveal a sophisticated network of middlemen and shell companies enabling the acquisitions. Notably, oligarch Igor Kesaev and businessman Sergey Shishkarev, both sanctioned and close to the Kremlin, are linked to luxury Canadian aircraft imported in 2023 and 2024.

Loopholes in Sanctions

Analysts point to gaps in enforcement and the use of intermediary countries as key reasons Russia continues to secure Western-made aircraft. Jurisdictions such as Oman, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Armenia have become crucial waypoints for re-exporting aircraft and spare parts.

“It’s quite clear that Russia has been able to work around some of these sanctions in the classic black market model, but with 21st-century sophistication,” said Fen Hampson, a professor of international affairs at Carleton University. He described the practice as “big business” with little evidence of meaningful disruption.

The Oligarchs Behind the Planes

Igor Kesaev

Kesaev, worth an estimated $4.5 billion USD, imported a black Bombardier business jet in July 2023. He is chairman of the Mercury Group and controls Russia’s largest tobacco distributor, Megapolis. His financial empire extends into the defense industry through investments in the Degtyarev arms factory, a supplier to Russia’s military.

The European Union sanctioned him in 2022, citing his companies’ role in generating revenue for Moscow’s war efforts. The U.S. and Canada followed with similar measures. Despite this, records show Kesaev personally imported the Bombardier jet, which had previously circulated through Bermuda, Austria, and San Marino before resurfacing in Russia.

Sergey Shishkarev

In March 2024, a Bombardier Global Express jet was imported into Russia via Delo Group, a logistics conglomerate majority-owned by Shishkarev, a billionaire ally of President Vladimir Putin. Flight records show the aircraft flew from Perth, Australia, to Oman in February 2024, before being re-registered and flown to Moscow.

A Global Shadow Network

The tangled ownership trail of these aircraft illustrates the international scope of sanction evasion. Kesaev’s jet was manufactured in Toronto in 2009, then exported to Bermuda in 2010 under Global Air Services Limited, whose director at the time, Christodoulos Vassiliades, has since been sanctioned for enabling Russian oligarchs.

The aircraft was operated at different times by U.K.-based Gamma Aviation and Austrian-owned Avcon Jet San Marino, before disappearing from records in early 2022. It re-emerged with Russian registration in mid-2023, coinciding with its importation by Kesaev.

A leaked Russian border database confirmed Kesaev had been using the same aircraft years earlier, including on a trip to Italy in 2021. Plane-spotters on Russian social media had also long associated the jet with him.

Corporate Responses

Manufacturers insist they are not complicit in these transfers. Bombardier emphasized that the jets were sold on the secondary market without its involvement, stressing compliance with all sanctions. Similarly, De Havilland Canada stated its aircraft in Russia had been acquired before the war and effectively seized by Russian authorities afterward.

“The company has processes in place to ensure that aircraft, parts, and services are not sold to sanctioned parties,” said a Bombardier spokesperson. De Havilland echoed that it had not sold any planes or components to Russia since sanctions began.

Financial intermediaries also sought to distance themselves. The Bank of Utah, which had acted as trustee for one Bombardier jet later imported into Russia, declined to comment, though it insists publicly that it does not transact with sanctioned entities.

Enforcement Challenges

Despite the scale of sanctions, Russia’s aviation sector has managed to reconstitute supply lines. According to trade analysts, the country has imported over $1 billion worth of aircraft and spare parts since 2022, sustaining an industry heavily dependent on Western technology.

The United States has attempted to crack down, with recent arrests of individuals accused of exporting aircraft parts illegally. Yet experts argue the globalized nature of aviation trade, combined with opaque ownership structures, makes enforcement extremely difficult.

“Sanctions at the best of times are a bit like a sieve,” said Hampson. “Russian oligarchs, as long as they remain in favour with Vladimir Putin, can act with impunity.”

A Persistent Dilemma

The revelations highlight the limits of Western sanctions as tools of economic warfare. While Russia’s aviation sector has undoubtedly been disrupted, the persistence of Canadian-made luxury jets in the country demonstrates how resourceful elites can navigate around restrictions.

As Moscow deepens ties with countries willing to act as intermediaries, the shadow market for aircraft is likely to expand. Unless sanctioning states close loopholes and harmonize enforcement more tightly, experts warn, Western technology will continue flying in Russia’s skies.