A luxury private jet that used to belong to Osama bin Laden 's family has been impounded by police in Florida amid accusations of theft and fraud . The 22-seater Gulfstream II plane , valued at $ 4.5million , is stuck on the tarmac at Miami Executive airport while its new owners do battle in court . Jose Avelino Goncalves , 49 , a Venezuelan , has been accused making off with the plane after holding back more than $ 3million of what he agreed to pay a business partner for it . Bin grounded : This plane , which used to belong to Osama bin Laden 's family , has been grounded in Miami amid a legal dispute between subsequent owners . Suspect : Jose Goncalves , 45 , is accused of agreeing to buy the plane then not paying up . It was owned by the family of Osama bin Laden ( right ) until 1980 . Officers in Miami-Dade county have taken custody of the corporate vehicle , the Miami Herald reported . The Gulfstream II is a staple of international luxury travel , which rich businessmen often kit out with lavish interiors . Ownership records show that the plane belonged to the billionaire Bin Laden clan until 1980 . At that point , Osama is thought to have just graduated from university in Saudi Arabia , and was still years away from founding al-Qaeda . His elder half-brother , Salem bin Laden , was then head of the family , which made its fortune from oil . It has changed owners more than a dozen times since then - complicated by the fact that foreigners are not allowed to own U.S. planes directly , so often register them under companies . The jet was recently owned by Luis Enrique Nuñez-Villanueva , a former business partner of Goncalves , who is now suing him over it . State prosecutors , who are also trying Goncalves on fraud and theft charges , say he agreed to buy the plane from Nuñez-Villanueva for $ 4.5million . Goncalves allegedly agreed to pay $ 1.5million up-front for it , and make monthly payments of $ 500,000 until the balance was covered . But it is claimed he only ever paid $ 829,196 . Goncalves 's lawyers , however , have characterized the spat as a 'misunderstanding ' and say Nuñez- Villanueva took the $ 829,196 unlawfully to buy himself a helicopter . Goncalves is being held in Miami on a $ 4.5million bond during the trial , as prosecutors fear he could flee the country is left to go free . He is also wanted in Venezuela .
The 22-seater Bin Laden luxury jet being held at Miami Executive airport . Pricey aircraft was owned by the Gulfstream II family until 1980 . Prosecutors say new owner Jose Goncalves did not pay previous owner .