Russia turned the paradise island into a tool of aggression against Ukraine, – WSJ

Russians are using a popular tropical resort to circumvent Western sanctions.

The island nation of the Maldives , known primarily as a popular tourist destination, has become one of the channels for supplying goods to Russia that are banned by Western sanctions, according to an investigation by The Wall Street Journal , which analyzed shipping documents, cargo manifests, and correspondence from logistics companies.

According to the publication, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of goods are sent to Russia through the airport in Male, the country’s capital. Among them are aviation parts, electronic components and dual-use products that can be used in both civilian and military industries. In particular, the publication mentions microchips, optical devices, as well as high-strength aviation fasteners.

The scheme, according to the authors of the investigation, works thanks to the transit status of the cargo. Every morning, a Russian Aeroflot plane arrives in Male. Local intermediaries and logistics companies linked to Russia help to process the cargo, after which it is loaded onto a plane to Moscow. In this case, the goods do not formally enter the domestic market of the Maldives.

The documents show that after arriving in Male, new air waybills can be issued for the cargo. They no longer indicate the original seller of the goods, and the recipient is listed as a Russian company.

“The cargo is never classified as an import and undergoes only minimal customs checks before moving between planes,” the publication writes, citing documents and interlocutors.

One example was a delivery in May 2024. The German company Kraemer Mining sold equipment for approximately 9 thousand euros to a buyer in Kyrgyzstan. The cargo first arrived from Germany to Male, where it was cleared by the local Freight Care. A few days later, the equipment was sent to Moscow by Aeroflot. The new consignment note no longer contained any mention of the German manufacturer, and the recipient was a Russian company from Krasnoyarsk.

The scale of trade, according to journalists, far exceeds the officially recorded exports of the Maldives to Russia. Maldivian customs statistics show only about $2,300 worth of tuna exports and $25 worth of printed products for 2022-2025. At the same time, Russian trade data shows that imports from the Maldives in 2022 exceeded $630 million, compared to less than $7 million a year earlier.

The authors note that the real volume may be even higher, as Russia began restricting access to trade statistics in 2024, and completely blocked it in early 2025.

According to Pavlo Shkurenko, an expert at the Kyiv School of Economics, the Maldives story demonstrates how wide the sanctions evasion network is. “It shows that there are effective channels that go far beyond the usual suspects,” he said.

At the same time, the Maldives has economic incentives not to aggravate relations with Russia. Russians are the second largest group of foreign tourists after Chinese citizens, and the local airport receives revenue from cargo handling, commercial fees, and fuel sales.

According to a Freight Care representative, the company does indeed work with transit cargo from Male to Russia, but was unaware of the supply of goods that could be used to produce weapons. “We do not support any war,” the company’s head said.

Meanwhile, Western officials are increasing pressure on the Maldives to shut down the route. According to a WSJ source, local authorities are aware of the problem and are trying to resolve it. However, limited customs resources and the lack of physical inspections of transit cargo leave room for further circumvention of sanctions.

(c)UNIAN 2026