- A new Twitter account called Russian Oligarch Jets is tracking the air travel of Russia’s elite.
- The automated account was formed following US sanctions against members of Putin’s inner circle.
- The teen who made headlines for tracking Elon Musk’s private jet travel is behind this new account.
The teenager who created a Twitter account that tracks Elon Musk’s private jet has turned his talents to a new subject: Russian oligarchs
A new account, called Russian Oligarch Jets, has started tracking the whereabouts of some of Russia’s wealthiest businessmen, posting when and where their aircraft takes off and lands. The automated feed posted its first tweet on Sunday after the US sanctioned several members of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle and pledged to hunt down and freeze their assets, including their yachts and mansions.
Russian billionaires are still crisscrossing the globe on private jets and yachts despite sanctions intended to financially cripple Russia’s elite in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. CNBC reported Monday that some of Russia’s wealthiest businessmen have started moving their megayachts to Montenegro and the Maldives, possibly in an effort to avoid them being seized or frozen.
And it seems Russian billionaires’ jets and helicopters are on the move too. The Oligarch Jets account has already tracked several flights by aircraft owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, including a helicopter trip in the Caribbean on Monday.
Russian Oligarch Jets (@RUOligarchJets)
Another account was formed to track flights on planes registered to Putin and Russian VIPs, although Jack Sweeney, the college student behind the accounts, warned in a tweet not to expect it to be very accurate because there are several VIP planes and there isn’t as much available flight data in Russia.
Sweeney, 19, first made headlines last month after Musk offered to pay him to shut down his Elon Musk’s Jet account. Launched in June 2020, the account relies on bots to scrape publicly available air-traffic information, but it rankled Musk. In a direct message to Sweeney, the billionaire Tesla CEO offered $5,000 to shut it down, calling it a “security risk.”
But Sweeney countered Musk’s offer, asking for $50,000 instead, but Musk declined, Sweeney told Insider’s Isobel Asher Hamilton.
Source: africa.businessinsider.com | AVERY HARTMANS