The US has imposed sanctions on four companies and one individual linked to the private military group ‘Wagner’. This step has been taken after the rebellion against Russia led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the ‘Wagner’ group.
Prigozhin ordered his fighters to march towards Moscow (the capital of Russia) last weekend. However, Prigozhin suddenly announced his withdrawal from the deal with Russia and went to Belarus.
The sanctions imposed by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Tuesday target entities in the Central African Republic, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Russia linked to the ‘Wagner’ group and its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin. are attached to. However, the sanctions are not directly related to last week’s uprising.
The US has imposed sanctions against Prigozhin and the ‘Wagner’ group several times in the past. The group is also accused of trying to interfere in the 2016 US election. Sanctions have been imposed on two mining companies in the Central African Republic, Dimeville SAU and Midas Resources SARLU, linked to Prigozhin.
Sanctions have also been imposed on Russia-based Limited Liability Company DM, which deals in gold sales, and Dubai-based Industrial Resources General Trading, which provides support to Dimeville.
The US has also imposed sanctions on Andrei Ivanov, a Russian official of the ‘Wagner’ group. According to the Ministry of Finance, Ivanov worked closely with Malian government officials to carry out arms deals, mining projects and other activities of the ‘Wagner’ group in Mali. The ministry said the banned companies conduct illegal gold deals to provide funds to the “Wagner Group” so that the group can maintain and expand its armed forces in Ukraine and Africa.
Meanwhile, several other US government agencies issued several advisories on Tuesday regarding gold trade in sub-Saharan Africa. Russian authorities announced on Tuesday the dropping of charges of armed insurrection against Prigozhin and the Wagner group and the closure of a criminal investigation.