Transport Department gave a US blacklisted Russian cargo plane permission to land in SA [SOUND]

# The Department of Transport has confirmed it issued a flight permit to a Russian aircraft operator, Abakan Air, last month. The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Abakan Air for sanctions in June 2024, citing the company’s role in transporting Russian military equipment. The Russian IIyushin IL-76 cargo aircraft landed in Upington in the Northern Cape last Thursday with a full load of cargo. The department’s spokesperson, Collen Msibi, says the plane was carrying a civilian helicopter and an acrobatic aircraft: