Not related to uprising
USA target Wagner’s gold deals
06/28/2023, 02:45 am
The Wagner Group has been operating on the African continent for years. The military company pays for its use with access to raw materials. The US wants to disrupt business with new sanctions.
The US has imposed new sanctions against the Russian mercenary group Wagner. The punitive measures are aimed in particular at financing Wagner through gold transactions in the Central African Republic, as announced by the US Treasury Department. Sanctions were imposed on the mining company Midas, which operates mines in the African country, and on the company Diamville, which buys gold and diamonds in the country.
According to the information, both companies are controlled by Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. Sanctions were also imposed on Dubai-based Industrial Resources General Trading, which is involved in the Diamville deal, and Russia’s Limited Liability Company, also involved in the gold deal, according to the US Treasury Department. In addition, punitive measures were taken against a Wagner representative active in Mali.
“The Wagner Group funds its brutal operations in part by exploiting natural resources in countries like Central African Republic and Mali,” said Treasury Secretary Brian Nelson. The US would continue to target the cash flows for Wagner to stem the “spread and violence” of the mercenary group in Africa, Ukraine and elsewhere.
Sanctions were temporarily on hold
The US sanctions were imposed on the Russian military leadership a few days after the brief Wagner uprising. According to the Ministry of Finance, however, they are not a reaction to the events of the weekend. They should have been announced earlier, but the US initially waited so as not to give the impression of taking sides in the power struggle between Prigozhin and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Wagner has played an important role in the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. The mercenary group is also accused of serious human rights violations in Mali and the Central African Republic, among others. “Wherever Wagner goes, there is death and destruction,” said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. Governments in Africa and elsewhere would have to “stop all cooperation with Wagner”.
The uprising of the mercenary group against the Russian military leadership had the world in suspense over the weekend. The mercenaries invaded Russia from Ukraine, first taking control of the army’s military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don. After that, they advanced towards Moscow in order, according to Prigozhin, to depose the Russian military leadership. After mediation by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin broke off the uprising after around 24 hours on Saturday evening.