The US Treasury said in a statement that it had imposed sanctions on four companies linked to the Wagner Group and its president, Yevgeny Prigozhin, adding that illegal gold transactions finance the Wagner Group and help it to keep its members and increase their number in Ukraine and some countries in Africa..
“The Wagner Group finances its brutal operations in part by exploiting natural resources in countries like the Central African Republic and Mali,” Brian Nelson, Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in a statement. “The United States will continue to target the Wagner Group’s revenue streams to limit the expansion of its business and its violent operations.” In Africa, Ukraine and elsewhere“.
And the US State Department had stated before this announcement that any action against Wagner had nothing to do with the rebellion that took place in Russia at the beginning of this week, which did not last long..
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday in front of a group of soldiers in the Russian army that he had always respected the Wagner fighters, adding that the group was “fully funded” by the state budget..
The United States issued a circular highlighting the risks posed by the gold trade in sub-Saharan Africa and encouraging industry participants to enhance due diligence practices “in light of the increasing alarming reports about the role of illicit actors in the gold trade, including the Wagner Group.”
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