Former Chief of Russia’s State Airline Arrested in Moscow on Abuse of Power Charges

Mikhail Poluboyarinov, the former CEO of Russia's state-owned airline Aeroflot who led the company from November 2020 to March 2022, was arrested and placed in pre-trial detention by the Tver District Court in Moscow.

The former executive has been charged with abuse of power, though the exact details of the corruption allegations remain undisclosed, according to The Moscow Times on June 23.

Poluboyarinov left his leadership position at the national carrier shortly after the European Union imposed sanctions against him following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, later joining the Russian state-owned conglomerate Rostec in 2023.

The criminal investigation focuses on Poluboyarinov's prior activities at the state development corporation VEB.RF, where he served in prominent roles between 2009 and 2019.

Law enforcement scrutiny is reportedly directed at a specific incident from 2016. The arrest follows the detention of Artem Dovlatov, a deputy chairman of VEB.RF and board member of the Far East and Arctic Development Corporation, who was placed under house arrest in May, on charges of abuse of power related to a 2016 bank reorganization.

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Before his roles at Aeroflot and Rostec, Poluboyarinov also held leadership positions at Vnesheconombank and the State Transport Leasing Company.

Previously, it was reported that Indian entities became central to illicit trade routes supplying restricted Western components to Russia despite extensive international sanctions implemented after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Specifically, a Cochin-based firm named Marine Equipments Centre significantly expanded its operations, importing $1.3 million and exporting $172,000 in aviation parts during the four years preceding the invasion, before selling these parts at elevated prices primarily to Aeroflot group companies.

The company eventually transferred specialized aircraft engines to Pobeda Airlines and Rossiya Airlines for $23.6 million, ultimately providing a total of $37 million in components to Aeroflot and its subsidiaries, alongside an additional $4.4 million to other Russian air carriers to keep their foreign-built fleets operational.

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