A helicopter recently linked to the yacht of a sanctioned Russian oligarch and 17 private jets linked to Russia have been removed from the register of the Isle of Man, a tax haven for the super-rich. The Guardian reported on Wednesday.
The Isle of Man is a self-governing Crown Estate in the Irish Sea, situated between England and Ireland. According to the government’s website, the island’s flight register mainly features high-profile private jets and business jets, as well as helicopters. Because the Isle of Man is known as a tax-free zone, registering on the island saves wealthy people taxes they would have to pay in other countries, according to The Guardian.
Removal from the register has far-reaching consequences
The measures taken by the Isle of Man strengthen the sanctions of Great Britain and the EU states, which have banned Russian aircraft from their airspace until further notice because of the war of aggression against Ukraine.
As of last Wednesday, 18 aircraft and two yachts with connections to Russia had already been removed from the register. This was confirmed by the Isle Of Man in a press release available to Insider. Likewise, 39 ships linked to Russia lost their registration.
De-registration means jets cannot legally fly and ships cannot sail legally, Alex Allinson, Isle of Man Enterprise Minister, told the BBC.
The Isle of Man wants to take measures that go beyond the actual sanctions
Among the planes that lost their registration was an Airbus helicopter that recently landed on Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich’s $600 million mega-yacht Solaris, according to The Guardian. In addition, the private jet of the Russian oligarch Dmitry Mazepin, a Gulfstream G650, was also affected by the measures, the daily writes.
Oleg Tinkov, founder of the Russian online bank Tinkoff, has not yet been sanctioned, but his Dassault Falcon business jet has been removed from the island’s register.
“The Air and Shipping Registry have taken proactive and rapid action to ban Russia-related businesses beyond UK sanctions,” Allinson told Insider. He added that the government is currently deregistering all planes, ships and yachts that can be shown to have a connection with Russia.