Wagner-linked group buys helmets from China despite sanctions
A front company for the Russian mercenary group Wagner acquired tens of thousands of protective helmets from China late last year, at the same time as the group’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was raising a vast prisoner army to attack Ukraine.
The Financial Times has found that entities used by the warlord to equip his operations in Africa have continued to export and import items freely across international markets despite a barrage of western sanctions intended to stop a private army that the US has designated a “transnational crime organisation”.
A Wagner-connected, Russia-based company called Broker Expert bought 20,000 polymer-based helmets from a small Chinese company called Hangzhou Shinerain Import And Export Co in November and December last year, according to customs declarations analysed by the FT, and interviews. The Chinese group claimed they were for “gaming use”.