Russian Trade Deals Worth Billions Routed Through Bermuda, Report Alleges

Investigative Report Uncovers Extensive Russian Trade Through British Overseas Territories

A recent report by the exiled Russian office of Transparency International has brought to light that approximately $3 billion in Russian trade deals, predominantly involving oil and gas equipment, were routed through Bermuda since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The investigation, titled 'Overseas Candies: Russia's Trade Through UK Overseas Territories Continues Into the Fifth Year of War,' analyzed roughly 29,000 transactions through British Overseas Territories (BOTs) from February 2022 to January 2025.

The report indicates that Bermuda served as an intermediary for approximately 3,200 transactions valued at $2.96 billion during this period. These transactions were part of a broader pattern, with an estimated $8 billion in Russian trade routed through various British island jurisdictions since the invasion.

Bermuda's Role in Facilitating Trade and Potential Sanctions Circumvention

According to Vladislav Netyaev, an author of the Transparency International report, the majority of these transactions through Bermuda involved the supply of equipment for the oil and gas industry by large Russian companies. Some of these companies, such as Taskom JSC, are reportedly already subject to US sanctions. Beyond industrial equipment, the report also highlighted transactions involving luxury items, specifically 'business jets for the families of Russian politically exposed persons, as well as transactions involving Russian helicopters.'

The investigative journalists suggest that the use of Bermuda-registered firms played an 'intermediary role' in potentially concealing illegally obtained Russian assets and circumventing international sanctions. Intermediary companies registered in BOTs like Bermuda are believed to have complicated trade verification and helped conceal the true origin or destination of goods.

Declining Trend and Official Responses

While the total volume of such trade through Bermuda reached approximately $3 billion, the report noted a significant decline in the number of transactions over time. In 2022, 2,630 transactions were identified, which decreased to 523 in 2023 and further to 45 in 2024. Despite this reduction, Transparency International expressed ongoing concern about the 'loopholes' that remain.

In response to the findings, a Bermuda representative, as quoted in The Guardian, emphasized the island's 'robust compliance' with British sanctions, stating that these sanctions bar 'a range of activities and transactions and contain specific exceptions and licensing grounds.' Similarly, the British Virgin Islands government, another territory mentioned in the report, stated that the data 'does not appear to refer to any actual sanctions breaches.'