Roman Abramovich (l) and Eugene Shvidler (r)
(Picture: PA)Private jets belonging to a sanctioned Russian oligarch have been detained indefinitely by the British Government.
The two jets belonging to the oil tycoon Eugene Shvidler had been under investigation at Farnborough and Biggin Hill airports since last month.
Shvidler was officially placed under sanctions by the Government on Thursday.
On Saturday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed the jets had been detained.
In a statement, he said: “Since Putin began his illegal assault, I’ve held jets belonging to Eugene Shvidler under investigation for 3 weeks.
“Now, I am using my powers to detain them indefinitely. Putin’s friends who made millions out of his regime will not enjoy luxuries whilst innocent people die.”
The two seized jets were a $45 million (£34 million) Bombardier Global 6500 jet, and a $13 million (£9.8 million) Cessna Citation Latitude jet, the Times reported.
Mr Shapps told the paper: “Introducing these latest measures - detaining tens of millions of pounds worth of Russian private jets - shows this government will leave no stone unturned in depriving Putin’s cronies of their luxury toys.”
A private helicopter belonging to Russian firm HeliCo Group LLC has also reportedly been detained.
Shvidler’s wealth has been estimated at around £1.2bn.
He has long been closely associated with Roman Abramovich, who is also on the UK sanctions list, as a former boss and shareholder in Abramovich’s steel giant Evraz PLC.
The Government had already made it illegal for planes, including private jets, owned, chartered or operated by Russians to use UK airspace.
Shvidler was chairman of Millhouse LLC, Abramovich’s Moscow-based investment company, but stepped down after sanctions were imposed on the Chelsea owner.
