Russia · 02 September, 2026 · 2 min read
Russia Uses Maldives Side Door to Evade Sanctions Through Velana International Airport
Velana International Airport serves as a gateway for restricted Russian cargo bypassing sanctions. A network of companies relocated goods intended for sanctioned Russian entities.
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Maldives Route to Moscow
A network of companies using the Maldives has emerged as a sanctions-evasion side door for Russia, with hundreds of millions of dollars in restricted cargo changing hands at Velana International Airport in Malé, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and interviews with Western officials.
“Hundreds of millions of dollars in restricted cargo—including dual-use items”
The cargo holds of outgoing flights are described as regularly packed with advanced microchips, optical sensors for satellite tracking, high-strength aerospace fasteners, and essential aircraft components destined for sanctioned Russian carriers.
The logistics operation is said to rely on minimal customs oversight and local re-invoicing tricks, with commercial flights operated by Russia’s flag carrier, Aeroflot, touching down daily in Malé.
Goods arriving on international flights from Western and Asian supply hubs are described as undergoing virtually no physical inspection, as customs authorities rely strictly on paperwork.
After clearance, the goods are loaded onto outbound Aeroflot jets that take off back to Moscow about two hours later with the cargoes.
Surge After Ukraine
Trade between the Maldives and Russia is described as having been negligible prior to 2022, but import tracking data cited by News18 says Russian purchases transiting via Maldivian intermediaries surged to over $630 million in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine.
News18 adds that the flow remained strong with over $160 million recorded in 2024 alone, while El Mundo reports that Russian imports from the Maldives surged to more than $630 million in 2022 and that Russia imported $160 million in 2024.
El Mundo says the Maldives route is relatively small compared with Russia’s main sanction-evasion routes such as China, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates, which collectively account for about 15,000 million dollars a year in restricted Russian imports.
The documentation analyzed by the Journal is described as including flight guides, cargo manifests, and emails between logistics companies, illustrating how the mechanism operates in the Maldives.
El Mundo also quotes sanctions researcher Pavlo Shkurenko saying, “This demonstrates the existence of efficient channels that are far from the usual suspects.”
Pressure and Economic Risk
Western officials are described as placing growing diplomatic pressure on local authorities to close the transit loophole, but News18 says shutting down the tarmac pipeline remains a complex challenge for the island nation.
“Western officials are placing growing diplomatic pressure on local authorities”
El Mundo frames the stakes as economic, saying a diplomatic crisis with Moscow could threaten the Maldives’ economy, which is still recovering from the pandemic-era tourism downturn.
El Mundo reports that Russian tourists are the second-largest nationality after Chinese visitors, and it says Maldives Airports Company reported record profits in 2024, making it the most profitable state-owned company in the country.
The article says the airport operator collects commercial and cargo handling fees and also resells fuel with a profit margin, while the Maldivian government earns revenue from tourism taxes and from the commercial boom.
El Mundo adds that official Maldives customs statistics show an insignificantly small volume of direct exports to Russia between 2022 and 2025: barely $2,300 in tuna and $25 in informational brochures.