Five Boeing 777 aircraft briefly registered with Madagascar's Civil Aviation Authority for technical ferrying ended up in the fleet of sanctioned Iranian airline Mahan Air, raising questions about regulatory mechanisms, Ecofin Agency reported on July 29.

The aircraft acquisition highlights Iran's efforts to circumvent international sanctions whilst expanding its aviation capabilities, as the jets are believed to be the first Boeing 777s to join Iran's civil fleet in recent years.

Madagascar's Civil Aviation Authority acknowledged issuing a Provisional Registration Certificate on January 17 to UDAAN Aviation, understood to allow ferrying of five Boeing 777 aircraft to an approved maintenance facility in Kenya, subject to physical inspections.

The Malagasy authority was alerted on June 20 by Cambodian officials about suspicious documents involving three of the planes, discovering that the certificate's validity date had been altered without authorisation and extended to July 12.

The aircraft, identified under prefixes 5R-RIS, 5R-ISA, 5R-HER, 5R-IJA, and 5R-RIJ, are believed to have transited from China via Cambodia before being seen in Iran in the cities of Mashhad, Chabahar, and Zahedan, Mehr reported.

UDAAN Aviation, the company that applied for the initial registration, is described as an India-based entity, though local media mention a possible affiliate registered in Antananarivo under the name Udaan Potentials Ltd.

Madagascar's Civil Aviation Authority stated the documents used abroad were falsified and has filed a complaint for "forgery" whilst initiating cooperation with relevant authorities to identify those involved.

The incident comes amid heightened trade tensions between Madagascar and the United States, with Washington imposing a 47% tariff on Malagasy exports in April - one of the highest announced - affecting more than 400,000 jobs in the textile sector.