Russia Secretly Shipped $2.5 Billion in Cash to Iran to Bypass US Sanctions

Russia secretly shipped nearly $2.5 billion in cash to Iran in 2018 to help sustain the Iranian regime after renewed US sanctions, The Telegraph reported, citing customs and trade records obtained by the newspaper on February 6.

According to the documents, a state-owned Russian bank, Promsvyazbank, delivered almost five tonnes of banknotes to Iran’s central bank in 34 bulk shipments over four months.

The first transfer took place on August 13, 2018, just days after US President Donald Trump imposed new sanctions on Tehran. Individual shipments were valued at between $57 million and $115 million.

The records suggest the cash was moved through Russia’s Caspian trade corridor, likely travelling by train to the port of Astrakhan, then by ship to Iran’s port of Amirabad, before continuing overland to Tehran.

Experts cited by The Telegraph said the covert deliveries highlighted Moscow’s efforts to bypass sanctions and provide financial support to Tehran during a period of economic strain and political unrest.

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Promsvyazbank, taken over by the Kremlin in 2017 and repurposed to finance Russia’s defense sector, was later sanctioned by the US and Britain following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Analysts told The Telegraph that cash transfers offered a way to sustain cooperation outside traditional banking systems, especially as both countries face extensive international restrictions and are under tight sanction regimes.

The Telegraph noted that the revelations come amid deepening Russia–Iran ties, including Tehran’s supply of drones and missiles used in Russia’s war against Ukraine, raising concerns that similar financial flows could continue today.

Earlier, Iran had received its first Mi-28NE Night Hunter attack helicopter from Russia, marking a key milestone in a 2023 procurement deal amid growing military pressure from the US.

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