The United States has taken fresh aim at Russia’s Wagner group, imposing sanctions on companies it accuses of engaging in illicit gold dealings to fund the mercenary force.
In a statement on Tuesday, the US treasury department said it slapped sanctions on four companies in the United Arab Emirates, Central African Republic and Russia it accused of being connected to the Wagner Group and its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The companies engaged in illicit gold dealings to fund the militia to sustain and expand its armed forces, including in Ukraine and some countries in Africa, the treasury said.
“The Wagner group funds its brutal operations in part by exploiting natural resources in countries like the Central African Republic and Mali,” the treasury’s under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, Brian Nelson, said in a statement.
“The United States will continue to target the Wagner Group’s revenue streams to degrade its expansion and violence in Africa, Ukraine, and anywhere else.”
The Wagner Group did not immediately respond to the US allegations.
The measures against the Wagner group had been previously planned but were briefly put on hold as US officials sought to avoid appearing to favor a side in a power struggle between the mercenaries’ chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
Wagner, whose men in Ukraine include thousands of ex-prisoners recruited from Russian jails, has grown into a sprawling international business with mining interests and fighters in Africa and the Middle East.
Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said this week “private military contractors” would remain in Central African Republic (CAR) and Mali, the two countries in sub-Saharan Africa where Wagner has the biggest presence. The group has been accused of widespread atrocities in both countries.
The state department spokesman, Matthew Miller, previewing the sanctions earlier on Tuesday, renewed his criticism of the Wagner mercenaries, who have been accused of wide abuses in Africa.
“We believe that everywhere that Wagner goes, they bring death and destruction in their wake. They hurt local populations, they extract minerals and extract money from the communities where they operate,” Miller told reporters.
“And so we would continue to urge governments in Africa and elsewhere to cease any cooperation with Wagner,” he said.
The United States has previously imposed sanctions on Wagner and Prigozhin.
The companies hit with sanctions on Tuesday included Central African Republic-based Midas Ressources SARLU and Diamville SAU, Dubai-based Industrial Resources General Trading and Russia-based Limited Liability Company DM.
The United States also issued an advisory highlighting risks raised by the gold trade in sub-Saharan Africa due to what it said was increasingly concerning reporting related to the role of illicit actors, including the Wagner Group.
