The Russian Federation has paid Iran for the Shahed drones, including in gold. A report by the research group C4ADS, obtained by The Washington Post, describes a complex payment system used in a multimillion-dollar deal to purchase kamikaze drones.
It notes that in addition to the usual wire transfer, which documents show was processed through a bank in the United Arab Emirates, Russia also provided gold as part of the deal.
An excerpt from a contract between Russian drone manufacturer Alabuga and Iranian-listed Sahara Thunder details the delivery of gold bars worth a total of about $104 million.
"By using gold, the parties avoided using the U.S. dollar, which may be in short supply or subject to U.S. Treasury sanctions." The gold transfer also provides additional anonymity as it bypasses traditional financial systems, leaving a limited digital footprint,” the report said.
It is important to note that Iranian corporate documents show that Sahara Thunder began a liquidation process several months after the imposition of US sanctions. It is likely to be replaced by another legal entity.
According to the report, the Russian-Iranian drone partnership has highlighted the limitations of global sanctions as sanctioned entities adapt and others take their place.