Russia establishes covert trade channel with India for sensitive electronics: Report

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia has established a covert trade channel with India in order to obtain sensitive electronics to be used to support the conflict with Ukraine, the Financial Times said in a report on Wednesday.

Citing “letters to a shadowy trade promotion body with strong links to the Russian security services,” the British daily said Russia's Industry and Trade Ministry drew up confidential plans in October 2022 to spend about 82 billion Indian rupees (currently about $976 million) to obtain critical electronics through such hidden channels.

The letters indicate that Moscow’s plan aimed to use rupees collected by Russian banks from oil sales to New Delhi, and that it saw India as an alternative market for goods “previously supplied from unfriendly countries.”

The technologies targeted by Russia are those with both civilian and military applications that are subject to Western export controls, the newspaper said.

“Moscow even envisaged pumping investment into Russo-Indian electronics development and production facilities, according to the leaked files,” the report said.

According to the report, the extent to which Moscow has implemented its plan remains unclear, though it added that detailed trade flow data suggest Russian-Indian ties with regards to such goods have become deeper.

​​​​​​​India has historically been aligned with Russia from the Cold War era. Once a major destination for Moscow’s defense exports, India is now the biggest importer of cheap oil from heavily sanctioned Russia.​​​​​​