By Ryan Hewlett

May 22 - (The Insurer) - Aircraft lessor SMBC Aviation Capital has secured a further $654 million in proceeds from insurance settlements over the past year related to jets stranded in Russia following Western sanctions.

The Ireland-headquartered company said in a first-quarter trading statement on Thursday that its total recoveries from insurance claims relating to the war in Ukraine now totalled $1.41 billion.

SMBC, owned by a consortium including Japan's Sumitomo Corp and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, secured insurance payouts totalling $756 million in 2023, $630 million in 2024 and $24 million so far in 2025.

As previously reported, SMBC recorded an impairment of $1.6 billion in 2022 to cover the financial impact of 34 jets and a number of engines held in Russia by domestic airlines after international sanctions were imposed in response to the war in Ukraine.

Last month, SMBC and five other lessors closed a long-running dispute in Dublin’s high court against dozens of insurers and reinsurers including Lloyd’s, Chubb, AIG and Fidelis following a series of settlements.

The trial was the largest ever heard in Ireland by number of lawyers, and was held in a purpose-built court as no courtroom in the country was large enough to accommodate the 180 legal professionals in attendance each day.

The Irish group action largely mirrored the London “mega-trial” which closed earlier this year.

That trial commenced in October 2024 and concerns five cases including those brought by AerCap, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), Merx Aviation, KDAC Aviation Finance and DAE subsidiary Falcon 2019.