Maldives Facilitates Russian Sanctions Evasion via Malé Airport

The Government of the Maldives has emerged as a key hub for Russia to bypass Western sanctions, facilitating the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars in restricted goods. Local middlemen and logistics firms operating at Velana International Airport in Malé alter shipping documents to move cargo from the U.S., Europe, and China onto Aeroflot flights bound for Moscow.

These shipments include aerospace components, optical instruments, and dual-use microchips, some of which are distributed to sanctioned entities like S7 Airlines. Russian imports from the Maldives surged from less than $7 million in 2021 to over $630 million in 2022. The state-owned Maldives Airports Company Limited has reported record profits resulting from these cargo handling fees and fuel resales.

While the United States and Europe are pressuring the Maldivian government to shut down these routes, the archipelago's economy remains heavily dependent on Russian tourism. Hossein Vahid Khorasani, the managing director of the logistics firm Freight Care, has acknowledged the company's role in handling goods in transit to Russia.