Putin's secret lover's luxury jet evades economic sanctions as it was missed

12 June 2024 , 17:33

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Alina Kabaeva has been personally sanctioned, but the firm servicing her jet has not

A luxury business jet used by Vladimir Putin’s secret lover has managed to evade sanctions, after the company it is serviced by was missed by western officials.

Alina Kabaeva, 41, a former Olympic gold-winning rhythmic gymnast, is personally sanctioned by western nations, including Britain, for her close personal relationship with the dictator, 71. But her personal jet, a Falcon 7X aircraft worth £26.3million, has evaded a similar fate.

Alina Kabaeva is a former gold medal winning gymnast

The jet - with an RA-09009 registration - is serviced by Russair, an airline headquartered in Moscow, which is reportedly not currently hit by sanctions. While most Russian airlines have been hit hard by sanctions, the servicing firm has managed to thrive in the few years following Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

In 2023 and 2024, Russiar has successfully obtained a slew of western goods, which it uses to keep its planes flying and in top condition. Custom records procured by The Insider show the firm has been able to obtain more than a dozen different types of goods by importing them from the west.

The company that services Alina Kabaeva's jet is untouched by western sanctions

The goods it has managed to procure include a transceiver, O-rings and gaskets, cable jacket, grounding wire, backup power supplies, aircraft tires, fire extinguishers, traverses, spring washers, nuts, gas drain, helium cylinders, smoke hoods, brackets, screws, audio headsets, oxygen masks for pilots and other products for Falcon, according to customs records obtained by The Insider.

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Many of these supplies have come from nations like the US, France, Canada, and Britain, all of which have ordered significant sanctions on Putin's regime and its associates. The Insider reported that supplies "for the personal airline of Putin’s entourage" go "through Turkey, the UAE and the Maldives".

Russair through Breeze LLC are linked to "assets controlled by Putin’s friends, family and ‘wallets’". Russair leases the plant from insurer Sogaz, whose shareholders were listed among people close to Putin as his nephew Mikhail Shelomov, 56.

Will Stewart