- The UK impounded a private jet near London, a minister said Wednesday.
- Grant Shapps said the plane was seized under new laws banning Russian planes from the UK.
- Multiple reports linked the plane to Eugene Shvidler, which appeared to match flight records.
The UK impounded a private jet connected with a Russian oligarch, part of sweeping sanctions in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
The UK transport secretary, Grant Shapps, told the BBC on Wednesday that the seizure had been made at Farnborough Airport, around 40 miles from London.
According to both Politico and The Telegraph, that aircraft is linked to Russian oil magnate Eugene Shvidler.
Shvidler, according to Forbes, has a net worth of $1.7 billion, and is a close friend of Roman Abramovich.
The Russian Oligarch Jets tracking project has previously linked Shvidler with a Bombardier Global 6500 private jet. It can carry up to 17 passengers, reach close to supersonic speeds, and can come with a range of luxury features.
The flight-tracking website AvDelphi showed that the jet was in Farnborough on Tuesday, having flown from New Jersey in late February.
Shapps issued a "Restriction of Flying Order" to prevent it from leaving while officials investigated whether it met the rules, Politico reported.
The jet is registered in Luxembourg to a company called Global Jet Luxembourg, per Politico. The outlet reported that the jet had been detained while the government worked to confirm its final ownership.
Shapps said that the seizure was the first made under new rules allowing the UK to detain Russian aircraft that enter the UK.
It was a step up from a previous restriction which banned Russian craft but did not allow their seizure.
—Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) March 8, 2022
In an interview Wednesday, Shapps told the BBC the new measure "closes off some of those loopholes to do with trying to work out the ownership of some of these aircraft.
"There is one such aircraft on the ground at Farnborough that I have essentially impounded while we carry out further investigations," he said.
"It's very important that we have the laws available to enable that to happen."
A spokesperson for the UK Department for Transport told Insider: "The UK government has issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) to prevent a flight which is in dispute from taking off from Farnborough Airport.
"It will remain at the airport whilst we investigate further whether it falls under the recent legislation banning all Russian-linked aircraft."