In September 2025, Josimar released an article describing the alleged recruitment of potentially “thousands” of migrant workers from Qatar into the Russian military.
The article says that many of the migrant workers recruited to Qatar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup became unemployed after the tournament. Recruitment agencies now see Russia as a new ‘market’, and jobless migrants in Qatar are being “offered a route to Russia” with promises of a high salary and citizenship, only to arrive to fight on the frontline against Ukraine.
The article includes a description of the case of a Ghanian worker who was employed by seafood processor Ocean Fish (part of Charlotte Trading & Contracting) in the run up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The worker allegedly was subjected to labour rights violations while employed at Ocean Fish, including long hours, wage theft, and poor living conditions – the company refutes the allegations (see below). Following this, the worker was allegedly recruited into the Russian military via a range of intermediaries, including a Russian travel agency. His family have not heard from him since May 2025.
In November, the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Ocean Fish (part of Charlotte Trading & Contracting) to respond to the allegations of labour rights violations in Qatar. The company’s response can be read in full below – it describes the allegations of labour rights abuse at Ocean Fish as “inaccurate and misleading”, and “strongly refutes any insinuations of mistreatment, forced labor, or exploitative behavior”.