How five Boeing 777s linked Madagascar's power elite to Iran

AI Summary

A corruption trial in Antananarivo centers on businessman Mamy Ravatomanga and five Boeing 777s routed to Iran using temporary Malagasy registrations. The aircraft were reportedly used to circumvent multiple U.S. sanctions and are now registered to Iran’s Mahan Air, though they never entered Madagascar.

Once among Madagascar's most influential businessmen and a close ally of deposed president Andry Rajoelina, Mamy Ravatomanga stands at the centre of one of the island's most explosive corruption cases. The 57-year-old tycoon is the most prominent defendant in a trial starting Tuesday in Antananarivo over five Boeing 777s routed to Iran via temporary Malagasy registrations to circumvent multiple US sanctions. The planes, now registered to Iranian carrier Mahan Air, never physically entered Madagascar.