The US Treasury Department sanctioned four "gold dealers" and one "weapons dealer" related to the Wagner Group.
The sanctions follow Yevegny Prigozhin's brief insurrection. They target Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Central African Republic, which "have participated in illegal gold deals to fund the Wagner Group to sustain and grow its military capabilities, especially in Ukraine and Africa."
US Sanctions Wagner's Gold Mining Operations
Andrey Nikolayevich Ivanov, a Wagner Group executive from Russia, "worked closely with Prigozhin's business Africa Politology and top Malian government officials on arms transactions, mining issues, and other Wagner Group activities in Mali," according to a Treasury Department announcement.
Per CNN, the US Treasury Department sanctioned Wagner group director Ivan Maslov in Mali last month for "attempting to hide its intentions to procure military supplies for use in Ukraine."
The Wagner Group's Prigozhin, a longtime Putin supporter, overthrew Russia's military leadership over the weekend by taking a southern military headquarters and leading his soldiers to Moscow.
On Saturday, he retreated and accepted a deal with Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko. Lukashenko said Prigozhin came from Moscow on Tuesday.
According to The Washington Post, the United States has previously issued multiple sanctions against Prigozhin and the Wagner Group, including allegations that he attempted to interfere with the 2016 US presidential election.
Diamville SAU and Midas Ressources SARLU, two Central African Republic-based mining companies with ties to Prigozhin, were sanctioned, along with Russia-based Limited Liability Company DM, which conducted gold sales, and Dubai-based Industrial Resources General Trading, which provided Diamville with support.
The United States also sanctioned Russian Wagner Group executive Andrei Ivanov. Treasury reports that Ivanov collaborated with Malian government officials on arms transactions, mining ventures, and other Wagner Group endeavors in Mali.
Treasury asserts that the sanctioned firms engaged in illegal gold transactions to finance the Wagner Group so that it could maintain and expand its military forces in Ukraine and Africa.
Russia's Gold Imports
In June, the Group of Seven nations agreed to prohibit gold imports from Russia to prevent Russia from exchanging gold for a more liquid foreign currency that is not subject to current sanctions.
The United Arab Emirates, a key US strategic partner in the Middle East, was previously identified by the Treasury Department as a "country of focus" for purportedly functioning as a hub for Russian sanctions evasion. According to a 2020 US Defense Intelligence Agency assessment, the UAE may provide funding for the Wagner Group. Officials from the UAE deny the allegations.
Earlier this year, US spies intercepted Russian operatives gloating that they had convinced the UAE to "work together against US and British intelligence agencies," according to a document leaked in an April intelligence compromise.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) achieved an agreement with its Emirati counterparts that the United States believed would "deepen their liaison relationship."
The United Arab Emirates denounced the allegations as "categorically false," and the United States refused to corroborate the authenticity of the document. Several additional US government agencies released new advisories about sub-Saharan Africa's gold trade on Tuesday.
Before Progozhin consented to evacuate to neighboring Belarus, which has supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Wagner Group launched a brief armed rebellion against the Russian government. The Russian government announced on Tuesday that it had concluded its criminal investigation into the uprising and will not pursue charges of armed rebellion against Prigozhin.
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