The Trump administration filed a lawsuit on Wednesday seeking forfeiture of a Chinese-registered Gulfstream private jet, seized in Alaska in May, that allegedly traveled to Iran without U.S. authorization.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, where the plane was manufactured, seeks possession of a 2012 Gulfstream G550 registered to Deer Jet (Beijing) Co., Ltd., bearing tail number B-8259, which flew from Beijing to Tehran on Dec. 13, 2024, and remained there until Dec. 19.
Prosecutors claim that the U.S. Department of Commerce did not issue the required license for the flight to Iran, and that the U.S. Department of the Treasury did not authorize the plane’s stay beyond 72 hours.
The jet was seized when it landed in Anchorage on May 24, and is in FBI custody in Virginia. The Trump administration asked the court to allow the FBI to retain custody of the plane until the court rules on the forfeiture.
