US targets Wagner Group by sanctioning gold firms suspected of funding mercenary force

 The United States (US) targeted Russia's Wagner Group on Tuesday by imposing sanctions on companies accused of engaging in illegal gold trades in order to fund the mercenary group.

In a statement, the United States Treasury Department, the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, said it sanctioned four businesses in one Middle Eastern country, Central African Republic, and Russia, accusing these companies of being linked to the Wagner Group and its chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The United States Department of the Treasury said that the companies engaged in illicit gold dealings to fund the mercenary force and expand its armed forces in Ukraine and other countries in the African continent. 

Brian Nelson, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence of the United States, said in a statement, “The Wagner Group funds its brutal operations in part by exploiting natural resources in countries like the Central African Republic and Mali. The United States will continue to target the Wagner Group’s revenue streams to degrade its expansion and violence in Africa, Ukraine, and anywhere else."

The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, said on Tuesday that Prigozhin's catering firm's finances will be scrutinized following his mutiny, claiming Wagner and its founder had earned over $2 billion from Russia in the previous year.

According to media reports and sources, Wagner, a private military company composed of mercenaries, has fought in Libya, Syria, the Central African Republic, Mali, and the deadliest battles of Ukraine's 16-month conflict. 

The Wagner group was established in 2014, following Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula and started giving assistance to pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.

On Tuesday, the US imposed sanctions on Midas Ressources SARLU and Diamville SAU and Russia-based Limited Liability Company DM.

In recent days, the Wagner group has been in the spotlight.