Malagasy businessman faces trial in Madagascar

A Malagasy businessman, Mamy Ravatomanga, is set to face trial in Antananarivo starting October 27 for allegedly circumventing American sanctions to transfer five Boeing 777 aircraft to Iran. The trial comes after Ravatomanga, a former ally of the country's former president, was ousted from power in October 2025 following a military alignment with protesters.

Ravatomanga's business empire and legal issues

Ravatomanga is the founder of the Sodiat group, a conglomerate with interests in automotive distribution, aviation, private security, media, construction, health, real estate, hospitality, tourism, golf, and the vanilla sector. He was ranked as the second richest person in Madagascar by Forbes in 2017 and is being prosecuted by the anti-corruption unit in Antananarivo for money laundering and influence peddling.

Aircraft transfer details and U.S. sanctions

According to the indictment, Ravatomanga facilitated the transfer of the five Boeing 777 aircraft, which were initially registered to a Florida-based company, Ion Aviation, and stationed in China. The aircraft were registered in Madagascar in 2025, allowing them to transit through international airspace to Iran in July 2025. They are now registered under the name of the Iranian company Mahan Air, according to the register on the specialized website Planespotters.

Sanctions against Mahan Air and its associates

Two of the aircraft are specifically targeted by U.S. Treasury sanctions announced in April, which accuse Mahan Air of being involved in the acquisition and transportation of drone and weapons systems to and from Iran. The U.S. Treasury has also sanctioned Hamid Arabnejad, an Iranian national who participated in the alleged meeting at the Antananarivo Novotel hotel, for supervising Mahan Air's efforts to circumvent sanctions.

Photos and legal challenges

The Malagasy indictment mentions photos of a meeting at the Antananarivo Novotel hotel, where Ravatomanga is alleged to have participated alongside the then Minister of Transport, Valéry Ramonjavelo, Singh Khushwinder, the general director of Madagascar's civil aviation, and Hamid Arabnejad. Ravatomanga's lawyers stated that he was not informed of the alleged photograph's existence.

FBI involvement and flight risk concerns

The U.S. FBI, which questioned several accused, did not comment on the source of the photo mentioned by the Malagasy judiciary. In total, 28 people are being prosecuted, including all the alleged participants in the Novotel meeting. Ravatomanga will not appear on the defendant's bench as he remains in custody in Mauritius. His requests for bail were rejected due to the risk of flight. A Mauritian investigator cited concerns that he might escape like Carlos Ghosn, the former head of Renault-Nissan, whose escape to Turkey was facilitated by a jet operated by a subsidiary of Ravatomanga's Sodiat group.