One of Turkey's wealthiest families has had its top-of-the-line corporate jet seized by a Bermuda court.

The plane was locked down after legal action launched last year by communications giant Motorola against Bermuda-registered Alloy Aircraft Co. Ltd. resulted in a Bermuda Supreme Court ruling that the Bombardier Challenger Aircraft - believed to be worth some $15 million - be seized in Paris, France.

The seizure was just one part of a highly-publicised and massive lawsuit launched by Motorola against the Uzan family - included on Forbes latest list of the world's wealthiest families with a reported fortune of more than $1 billion - in at least eight jurisdictions across the globe. In the suit, Motorola alleged that the Uzans were behind a "huge fraud" that had cost the company billions of dollars.

Motorola Credit Corp. counsel Steven Davidson, a partner in US law firm Steptoe & Johnson, told The Royal Gazette that the jet's seizure was the result of a freezing order procedure on the assets of Alloy Aircraft Co. The order was made in April of last year in Supreme Court by Chief Justice Austin Ward, with plaintiff Motorola Credit Corp. represented by Jeffrey Elkinson of Conyers Dill & Pearman while Alloy's local counsel was Jai Pachai of Appleby Spurling & Kempe.

Mr. Davidson told The Royal Gazette that Alloy appeared to be a "Bermuda shelf company" beneficially owned by the Uzan family. He added: "As best we can tell the assets of the company were this plane - a top of the line corporate jet worth about $15 million."

Mr. Davidson said that the Uzans tried to have the order set aside, but were unsuccessful.

Today the jet remains under lock and key in France, Mr. Davidson said. But that wasn't the end of the Uzan's troubles, with the US District Court in the Southern District of New York last month awarding Motorola a monumental judgment award of $4.26 billion against the monied Turks.

A post-judgment Motorola issued Press called the court's finding a "landmark decision" which supported their claim that the Uzans had "perpetrated a huge fraud".