Maldives Emerges as Transit Route for Hundreds of Millions in Restricted Western Goods to Russia

The Wall Street Journal reported on September 1 that hundreds of millions of dollars in restricted or sanctioned-bound goods, including aircraft parts and electronic components, have transited Malé's airport for Russia, citing air waybills, a cargo manifest, logistics-company emails and Western officials 1. Aeroflot flights land each morning in Malé, where local middlemen and firms including Freight Care and Go Investment clear Western goods through customs before reloading them for Moscow, according to the documents and officials cited by the Journal 1. Russian imports from the Maldives rose from under $7 million in 2021 to more than $630 million in 2022 and $160 million in 2024, per trade-data firm Import Genius, whose research director said Russian authorities began censoring then blocking the underlying data starting in 2024 12. Maldivian customs data for 2022-2025 show only about $2,300 in tuna and $25 in brochures exported to Russia; the Journal attributes this discrepancy to minimal physical inspection of transit cargo 13. The state-owned Maldives Airports Company posted record 2024 profit and a one-day cargo high of 126 tons in July, and Russians are the Maldives' second-largest tourist nationality after China. This is an incentive the Journal says discourages enforcement, even though the archipelago's volume remains modest beside China, Turkey and the UAE, which together account for roughly $15 billion in restricted Russian imports annually 1.