The United States has recently announced the imposition of new sanctions on gold and diamond companies that allegedly provide financial support to Russia’s Wagner Group of mercenaries, IDEX Online reports.
The Wagner Group, known for its involvement in fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, was responsible for a failed mutiny against President Vladimir Putin recently. In an effort to disrupt the activities of this “violent Russian military group,” the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury has sanctioned four companies connected to Wagner Group and its founder, Yevgeniy Prigozhin.
The sanctioned companies are Midas Resources SARLU (Midas), a mining company based in the Central African Republic (CAR); Diamville SAU (Diamville), a gold and diamond purchasing company in CAR; Industrial Resources General Trading (Industrial Resources), a Dubai-based distributor of industrial goods; and the Russian company Limited Liability Company DM (OOO DM).
The US Treasury stated: “The Wagner Group has engaged in widespread human rights abuses and has exploited natural resources across multiple African countries. As a proxy military force of the Kremlin, the Wagner Group has conducted combat operations globally, including Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine.”
