A pilot Aleksandr Buzin stole a $20 million airplane and was caught

A U.S. court case has uncovered a scheme by private pilot Aleksandr Buzin and his front company, Aviation Consulting Corp (ACC), to steal a corporate jet worth more than $20 million.

According to court documents, the Embraer Legacy 650E aircraft was purchased in early 2024 with financing from a private foundation linked to Abelia Limited’s owner. For eight years, Buzin and his company ACC acted as Abelia Limited’s exclusive aircraft operator.

However, when Abelia Limited commissioned Buzin to assist with the purchase of the aircraft, instead of completing the transaction in the name of Tayyare Ltd. specifically created to take ownership of the plane, Buzin included his own shell company ACC as the buyer – without the owner’s knowledge or consent.

Litigation quickly revealed inconsistencies in the actions of Buzin and his company. In February 2025, the Florida District Court, Miami-Dade, issued a final judgment confirming Abelia Limited’s legal rights to the airplane (Case No. 2025-000465-CA-01). The court ordered ACC to transfer all ownership and correct the records to reflect actual ownership. In response to the lawsuit, Buzin claimed to be the legal owner of the airplane but failed to provide an explanation about documents that contradict this and the origin of over $20,000,000 to purchase the aircraft.

On March 25, 2025, a district court in Utah issued a temporary restraining order blocking any attempted sale or transfer of the aircraft by ACC and the Trust’s trustee, TVPX Aircraft Solutions, Inc. The purpose of the Trust’s action remains unclear as their official records indicate that the company is in the business of registering international airplanes to fly in the U.S., but no action has been taken in this regard for over a year.

The checks revealed that Aleksandr Buzin, a pilot and operator with one single company for eight years, with an average annual income of 250,000 euros, flying only on an airplane owned by Abelia Limited, had no way of purchasing an Embraer Legacy 650E for 20 million dollars, as previously alleged. However, behind this situation lies a complex scheme involving multiple countries and shell companies.

The audits revealed the involvement of offshore companies from Belize, the Marshall Islands, Gibraltar, Ireland, Estonia, and the United Kingdom. These companies have similar names and bank accounts located in different tax havens. Swiss affidavits submitted by Abelia Limited reveal how Buzin and his company ACC fabricated fuel invoices, used false technical intermediaries, and inflated costs by millions of dollars over eight years.

The Dutch Aviation Inspectorate documented the falsification of maintenance records and lookbooks in 2024.

After the owner Abelia Limited decided to change Buzin as a pilot and his company ACC as an operator of the jet, the fraudulent scheme began to unravel. Buzin attempted to sell the airplane through his company ACC’s website – the same company that the courts now confirm never had legal ownership of the plane, which it never had. The ownership documents obtained illegally by Buzin indicate his intention to get a deposit from a potential buyer, which could have resulted in financial losses for the latter.

When his illegal sale scheme was uncovered, and the U.S. litigation began, Buzin moved on to disguised extortion, where he was actually trying to force Abelia Limited to pay unsubstantiated bills. Documents filed in Geneva and referenced in the Florida lawsuit show that Buzin’s goal was not to legally collect fees, as he tried to show but to use fraudulent debts to extort a settlement. According to legal sources, “He is trying to take a $20 million airplane hostage for $2 million in fraudulent bills.” This behavior qualifies as extortion.

A court in Miami ruled: “Abelia Limited is the rightful owner of the 2019 Embraer S.A. Aircraft, Model EMB-135BJ – LEGACY 650E, with Serial Number 14501239 (hereinafter “Aircraft”).

Aviation Consulting Corp. transfers all ownership rights of the Aircraft to Abelia Limited, and all records of ownership shall be corrected to reflect the Plaintiff’s ownership.”

Given the multi-jurisdictional fraud, false court filings, and wire transfers through U.S. escrow agents, this case goes beyond the civil courts. It is financial fraud, a cross-border crime involving electronic means, and a calculated attempt to use the U.S. business infrastructure to launder stolen goods.

Such behavior warrants the attention of the FBI and International Law Enforcement Agencies that combat money laundering.

Two U.S. courts have already ruled in favor of Abelia Limited, while new lawsuits are pending in Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Abelia Limited has stated its intention to continue fighting until Aleksandr Buzin is criminally prosecuted.

“The civil courts have done their job,” an Abelia spokesman said. “Now it’s time for the authorities to do theirs. This was a theft planned in plain sight, through American institutions, under the noses of regulators. It should not go unpunished.”

It remains an open question how quickly law enforcement can respond to this convoluted scheme and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Attention to this case continues to grow, raising questions about possible schemes lurking behind the closed doors of offshore companies and the frontiers of high-tech and aviation.

Article Source: https://www2.miamidadeclerk.gov/ocs/Search.aspx