US Treasury Department slams sanctions on Russia and Central African Republic firms over Wagner link

In the Central African Republic, the United States has imposed sanctions on organisations in the country for aiding the activities of Russia mercenary group, Wagner. A statement by the Treasury department noted that “Russia has sought to leverage these Wagner-affiliated companies in its efforts both to secure additional revenue from abroad and to advance its interests in Africa…

The United States has issued sanctions on two entities, accusing them of backing Russia’s activities in the Central African Republic (CAR) and aiding the Wagner mercenary group, according to a Treasury Department statement.

The statement stressed that a CAR-based timber company and a Russian-based company, sought to profit financially “from illicit natural resource extraction and provided material and financial support to the Wagner Group and other organizations” linked to Wagner’s former owner Yevgeniy Prigozhin, who died in a 2023 plane explosion in Russia.

In the press release, Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said, “Russia has sought to leverage these Wagner-affiliated companies in its efforts both to secure additional revenue from abroad and to advance its interests in Africa, often at the expense of the host countries, their institutions, and their citizens.”

“The United States remains focused on disrupting the networks that enable Russia’s illicit and destabilizing activities in Africa,” the statement added.

The Central African Republic currently hosts Wagner Group mercenary army’s largest operations and remains one of the strongest allies of Russia in Africa.

Wagner forces have been engaged in Libya, Syria, Mali and other countries, and have fought some of the violent clashes of the war in Ukraine.

The group has been sanctioned on occasions by the US government following allegations of human rights abuses in Ukraine and other places it operated.