Wagner’s Africa leaders targeted in new wave of UK sanctions

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Wagner’s Africa leaders targeted in new wave of UK sanctions

7:56 CAT | 21 Jul 2023

FILE - People sit at the desk in the office in the 'PMC Wagner Centre', associated with the founder of the Wagner private military group (PMC) Yevgeny Prigozhin, during the official opening of the office block on the National Unity Day, in Saint Petersburg, on November 4, 2022. [File photo: AFP]

Measures target 13 people, firms linked to mercenary group

US announced new sanctions against Wagner three weeks ago

The UK announced a wave of sanctions against individuals and businesses involved with the Russian mercenary Wagner Group in three African nations.

The move targets 13 individuals and businesses linked to Wagner, which is accused of executions and torture in Mali and Central African Republic, and threats to peace and security in Sudan, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement. Vitalii Viktorovitch Perfilev, the head of Wagner in CAR, and Konstantin Aleksandrovitch Pikalov, who oversees the group’s operations in that country, are among those being sanctioned, it said.

“These measures will limit their financial freedom by preventing UK citizens, companies and banks from dealing with them, alongside freezing any assets held in the UK and travel bans,” the office said. The US announced new sanctions against the mercenary group three weeks ago.

The US and UK have frequently criticized Wagner for its destabilizing and exploitative activities in Africa, where the private paramilitary company has numerous contracts to provide security in hostile, unstable environments. Senior officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken have warned African nations against partnering with the group, accusing it of fueling even more violence than it stops, committing human rights abuses and siphoning off natural resources revenues.

“The Wagner Group is committing atrocities in Ukraine, as well as acting with impunity in countries like Mali, Central African Republic and Sudan,” UK Minister for Development and Africa Andrew Mithcell said in the statement. “Wherever Wagner operates, it has a catastrophic effect on communities, worsens existing conflicts and damages the reputations of countries that host them.”
Among the other individuals and entities being sanctioned by the UK are:

Ivan Aleksandrovitch Maslov, the head of the Wagner Group’s operations in Mali.

Alexander Alexandrovich Ivanov, the group’s unofficial spokesperson in CAR.

M-Invest, a company that the Foreign Office said serves as a front for Wagner, for threatening the peace and security of Sudan. M-invest has also previously advised the Sudanese government on disinformation campaigns to discredit government opponents, it said.

Meroe Gold, a mining subsidiary of M-Invest, for threatening peace, stability and security in Sudan. Meroe Gold has imported weapons, helicopters and military trucks and other equipment to Sudan.