On December 4, a Lithuanian-registered private plane on its way to Russia was intercepted at Helsinki Airport due to potential sanction evasion.
The Beechcraft plane flying from Lithuania to Russia’s Pskov via Latvia landed at the Helsinki airport to refuel when it was seized. Its indirect route from Lithuania to Russia, as well as the owners, raised suspicions among Finnish officials.
One of those piloting the plane was a Lithuanian national, Robertas Petkus. He was previously involved in a potential sanction evasion scheme uncovered by LRT.
Last year, the LRT Investigation Team revealed several attempts to use Lithuania as a transit destination to fly planes to Russia. Since last May, a stricter procedure for non-commercial flights has been in force, according to which pilots have to provide information on the operator, owner, customer and passengers of the aircraft.
Because of this, dozens of aircraft were denied access to Vilnius, Kaunas, and Palanga airports.
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In April last year, Petkus flew a Beechcraft B24R Sierra from Kaunas Airport to Russia’s Pskov. It was later sold in Moscow for 138,000 euros.
Petkus was also involved in the transport of the Cessna 172 aircraft that was intercepted in Lithuania’s Palanga last March.
The Russian nationals had bought the plane via Turkey and Italy, but the scheme was grounded when the Palanga airport seized the aircraft. At the time, Petkus tried to enter the plane, saying he was the representative of an Italian-Russian company MAK Aviation Services and tried to collect the documents found in the plane, as well as to move the aircraft from Palanga to Kaunas.
The law enforcement has now opened a pre-trial investigation, which is still ongoing. LRT could not reach Petkus for comment.
These cases may have prompted Finnish authorities to take action to seize the Beechcraft B55 Baron plane. As of December 17, it is still grounded in Helsinki.
The aircraft with Lithuanian LY-ARA registration was sold in Vilnius, as confirmed by ads on various listing websites. Some of them also indicate a price of around 100,000 euros.
Many of the ads mentioned Aviacom and Rytis Dulinskas, a Lithuanian civil servant who works at the Lithuanian Transport Competence Agency and is an adviser to the head of the Flight Supervision Division.
Dulinskas also works as a manager at Aviacom and owns 50 percent of the shares in the company.
His contacts and the Aviacom company were referenced in the plane ads.
Dulinskas told LRT that neither he nor Aviacom had anything to do with the plane, adding that he had simply helped a friend sell the aircraft.
“All I did was put up an advert and talk to people who were interested in the plane,” said Dulinskas.
He refused to disclose the buyer or the final destination of the plane.
Later, he clarified that the plane had been bought by a Latvian national, who may have acted as an intermediary, and that an unnamed Cypriot company was also involved in the deal.
The Latvian intermediary mentioned may have been Roberts Klimovičs, who was also on board the Beechcraft plane when it landed in Helsinki on December 4. He confirmed to LRT that he had brokered the purchase of the aircraft.
However, Klimovičs told LRT that the plane was bought by his close relatives in Latvia and that he flew to Russia only to reach Kazakhstan. He said that the Baltic countries regulate flights to Russia very strictly and additional permits are required, so he chose Finland, where controls are simpler.
“I didn't fly to Kazakhstan to sell a plane in Russia or Uzbekistan. I am an aviation enthusiast, the founder of a flying school in Riga, and I am looking for an opportunity to establish a base in Kazakhstan. So the flight to Kazakhstan was related to these plans,” Klimovičs said.
He has now filed an appeal to the Finnish Prosecutor's Office.
“I have already lodged a formal complaint about the handling of this case, which I consider to be unjust and unlawful, and a gross and unjustified violation of my human rights,” the man said.
Klimovičs said he chose the pilot Petkus for his trip because he was recommended by a friend who works for the Lithuanian Transport Competence Agency.
“He is a reliable and experienced pilot. Since he agreed to help, that was enough for me, but I have no information about his business connections,” Klimovičs added.
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