The Telegraph: Russia is financing the war with gold
1 December 2025 02:07
In recent years, Russia has been actively involved in gold trading in Africa, The Telegraph newspaper writes on its website, noting that gold, along with cryptocurrencies, is one of the sources of support for the Russian economy during Russia’s war against Ukraine, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
In the context of Western sanctions, in particular, against large Russian oil companies, gold is an important source of financing for Russia’s war in Ukraine, The Telegraph emphasizes. “Gold is easy to physically move <…>, easy to melt down, easy to conceal its origin and easy to launder on well-established black markets,” the authors explain.
How Russia is financing the war in Ukraine with gold
The journalists also refer to a report by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies from early 2025. Back then, researchers reported that Moscow had paid Iran in gold bullion to help create infrastructure for military drones. In addition, Russia reportedly used gold to pay for weapons from North Korea.
Speaking to DW, Vladislav Netyaev, head of the Dirty Money department at Transparency International Russia (TI-Russia), said that Russia “apparently” does pay for dual-use goods and military products with gold, “especially when it comes to transactions with North Korea.” “A similar model is used in cryptocurrency payments for such supplies ,” the expert continues. – “The Telegraph also rightly notes the sharp rise in world gold prices: this situation may indeed encourage the Russian authorities to use gold more often for international payments and other economic activities.
At the same time, the $2.5 billion estimated for gold exports from Africa to Russia since the beginning of 2022 is equivalent to about 1% of Russian assets frozen in the EU, Netyaev notes: “Obviously, such volumes cannot be a significant source of war financing.”
Gold deposits in Africa under the control of Russian mercenaries
According to the publication, a number of gold deposits in the Central African Republic (CAR) are now controlled by Russian-affiliated structures that have become the “heirs” of the Wagner PMC. In order to maintain control over the sale of gold, the mercenaries are allegedly committing murders, The Telegraph reports.
According to one such accusation, two months ago, Russians allegedly shot dead 10 local miners near the Ndasima deposit in the center of the country. According to local media reports cited by the journalists, two weeks after that, Russian mercenaries captured another 10 miners and locked them in metal containers that were heated in the sun for several days. At least one of these prisoners died, the article says. The value of gold reserves in the Ndasima deposit is estimated at $1 billion. It is alleged that the Wagner PMC gained control over it in 2021.
Meanwhile, the Russian company Nordgold this year received a license to mine gold in the Niou deposit, located in the province of Curveogo in Burkina Faso. According to The Telegraph, this is the third deposit developed by the Russian company in this African country.
In Mali, the military junta, in cooperation with Kazan-based Yadran-Group LLC, began construction of a gold processing plant this summer. The facility, which will have a production capacity of 200 tons, is expected to become a gold processing center for the entire region.
