Russian-US Citizen Jailed Over Plot to Illegally Export Aircraft to Russia

A US federal court has sentenced Sergei Nechaev, a 49-year-old dual Russian–US citizen, to 41 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for attempting to illegally export aircraft to Russia, The Moscow Times reported, citing US prosecutors on January 23.

Nechaev pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including unlawful export without a license, smuggling, and providing false information in export documents. He was arrested in December 2024 and reached a plea deal in September 2025.

The investigation was conducted by the US Department of Commerce, Homeland Security, and the Federal Aviation Administration, The Moscow Times wrote.

Between September 2022 and March 2023, Nechaev sought to ship two light aircraft—1968 and 1973 Cessna models worth a combined $170,000—from the United States to Russia after Washington imposed additional sanctions in February 2022.

The exports required special authorization from the Commerce Department, which he did not obtain.

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Prosecutors said Nechaev tried to evade controls by routing the planes through intermediaries for an unnamed flight school and submitting falsified paperwork listing end users in Turkey and Armenia. A US freight forwarder flagged the scheme after discovering the named company was registered in Moscow, according to The Moscow Times.

According to anti-corruption expert Ilya Shumanov, Nechaev previously worked as a pilot for a Russian VIP charter firm and flew dozens of times for billionaire Leonid Mikhelson and his family on a Gulfstream business jet linked to Novatek.

Other frequent passengers reportedly included Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and former deputy natural resources minister Denis Khramov.

Previously, the US prosecutors won the right to auction off the $300 million superyacht “Amadea”, which was confiscated from sanctioned Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov.

Authorities seized the 106-meter (348-foot) yacht, which features a helicopter pad, a swimming pool, a spa, a gym, a wine cellar, and even a lobster tank, in May 2022 in Fiji over alleged violations of US anti-money laundering laws.

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