The Maldives, known as a honeymoon destination and one of the Indian Ocean's premier resort spots, is being used as a detour route for Russia to circumvent Western sanctions. The tourism-dependent nation is serving as a transshipment hub for sanctioned goods in its trade with Russia.
The Wall Street Journal reported on the 2nd that hundreds of millions of dollars worth of goods move to Russia through Maldivian airports each year, including dual-use items that could be diverted to sanctioned companies or military applications.
Aeroflot, Russia's national carrier, arrives each morning at the airport in Male, the Maldivian capital. The aircraft loads cargo for about two hours before heading back to Russia. The cargo shipped this way flows to companies under Western sanctions, including Russian airline S7 and its maintenance subsidiaries.
The goods are not limited to simple consumer products. They include microchips that can be used in both civilian equipment and missile guidance systems, optical devices needed for satellites that track enemy troop movements, and high-strength aerospace rivets and bolts used in passenger jets, fighter aircraft and long-range rockets.
These are known as dual-use items. Because they can serve civilian industries while also being used to manufacture or maintain military equipment, they are subject to close scrutiny under the Russia sanctions regime.
Maldivian exports to Russia have indeed surged at an extraordinary pace since the war in Ukraine began.
An analysis of Russian trade data by trade data provider Import Genius found that exports to Russia from the Maldives, which has virtually no industrial base, amounted to only about $7 million in 2021. By 2022, when the war began, the figure had jumped to more than $630 million.
Lax Customs Checks Enable Transshipment as Airport Profits Soar
Analysts point to loose customs enforcement as the reason Russia has been able to use the Maldives as a detour route.
According to the WSJ, when cargo enters the Maldives, the bill of lading lists the original exporting company and the nominal buyer. But as local Maldivian firms change the shipping documents and transfer the goods to another flight, the name of the original seller sometimes disappears.
Physical inspections of cargo bound for Russia via the Maldives are also limited. A local official told the WSJ that Maldivian customs is understaffed and that inspections of transshipment cargo are minimal.
For the Maldives, such cargo traffic is also a substantial source of revenue. Maldives Airports Company collects cargo handling fees and various commercial charges, and resells aviation fuel.
Buoyed by this business, the airport operator posted record profit in 2024, becoming one of the most profitable state-owned enterprises in the Maldives. In July, daily cargo volume reached 126 tons, an all-time high.
Maldives Depends on Russian Tourists: Joining Sanctions Would Hit Tourism
There are also practical reasons the Maldives cannot readily join Western sanctions against Russia. Russia's influence over its tourism industry is considerable.
Russia is the second-largest source of visitors to the Maldives after China. The country cannot easily dismiss concerns that joining sanctions against Russia could sour bilateral relations and reduce tourist arrivals.
Still, some argue the volumes remain too small to call the Maldives a major conduit for Russian sanctions evasion. Sanctions-related goods that Russia imports through main detour routes such as China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates total roughly $15 billion a year.
Even so, the WSJ noted that the Maldives case shows Russia's sanctions-evasion network is far more extensive than expected.
Pavlo Shkurenko, a researcher at a think tank affiliated with the Kyiv School of Economics, said the case shows that effective routes exist well beyond the countries that usually draw suspicion.
