A U.S. Department of Commerce order traces five Boeing 777s from temporary Malagasy registrations to Iran, adding an international aircraft trail to a corruption case involving a businessman and former officials in Madagascar.
Madagascar’s civil aviation authority, Aviation Civile de Madagascar (ACM), said it issued Udaan Aviation provisional registration and airworthiness certificates for the aircraft on Jan. 17, 2025, for a planned maintenance trip to Kenya. The registration certificate expired April 17, three months later. ACM later alleged that documents used abroad had been altered to extend their validity and said it filed a forgery complaint.
The Commerce order lists five Boeing 777-212ERs under temporary registrations 5R-RIJ, 5R-RIS, 5R-ISA, 5R-IJA and 5R-HER. Its account places the aircraft in China before Cambodia, with Indonesia on the route, and says they departed Cambodia around July 15, 2025, for Iranian airports. The order says its route description draws on open-source reports and industry databases.
On April 21, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) named EP-MTE and EP-MTB as property in which Mahan Air held an interest, describing the airline as their owner and operator. Comparing manufacturer serial numbers in the OFAC announcement and Commerce order links EP-MTE to 5R-RIJ and EP-MTB to 5R-IJA. Treasury said Mahan Air was involved in Iran’s procurement and transport of unmanned aerial vehicle systems and weapons; its announcement did not say that any of these five Boeing 777s carried them. The action generally bars U.S. persons from transactions involving blocked property unless authorized or exempt.
AFP reported that an indictment it obtained contains co-defendant Singh Khushwinder’s account to investigators that Ravatomanga was given 5 million euros as part of the operation. AFP said Ravatomanga’s lawyers disputed the allegation, citing differing versions that included a reference to $5 million at a Mauritian bail hearing. The alleged payment has not been established in court.
A Mauritius National Assembly record says the Financial Crimes Commission (FCC) had interviewed 25 witnesses and suspects by Nov. 11, 2025, in an investigation that included acquiring five aircraft sent to Iran. The record also says the commission was cooperating with Madagascar, the United States and France.
Madagascar’s Anti-Corruption Pole first heard the case Sept. 22 and postponed proceedings while awaiting responses to summonses and results of a digital investigation, local media reported. Several Malagasy outlets and AFP put the next hearing on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, while RFI reported Oct. 27, 2027.
