"US Treasury Targets Illicit Gold Companies Funding Wagner Group and Imposes Sanctions on Mining Operations"

The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on four companies and one individual connected to the Russian military group PMC Wagner (Wagner Group) and its founder Yevgeniy Prigozhin. These entities, based in the Central African Republic (CAR), United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Russia, have been involved in illicit gold dealings to fund the Wagner Group's operations in Ukraine and Africa. The sanctions aim to disrupt the Wagner Group's financial network and international structure, as well as target its revenue streams to degrade its expansion and violence in Africa and Ukraine. The US government has also issued an advisory highlighting risks related to the gold trade in sub-Saharan Africa, including conflict financing, money laundering, and human rights abuses.