In exchange for Moscow’s support, the military regime in Sudan allows the free export of gold, depriving “an impoverished country of hundreds of millions of dollars of state revenue,” according to the investigation.
“In an attempt to strengthen Russia against increasingly harsh Western sanctions and support military action in Ukraine,” Moscow is covertly destroying Sudan’s most valuable resource, gold. Often, exports are disguised as other goods, such as cookies. This was reported in an investigation by the American media company CNN, published on Friday evening, July 29.
Former and current US officials told reporters that Russia actively supported the 2021 military coup in Sudan, which overthrew the transitional civilian government and consolidated military power. In exchange for Moscow’s support, the current regime allows the free export of gold, bypassing the established rules, depriving “a poor country of hundreds of millions of dollars of public revenues,” the investigation states. “We’ve known for a long time that Russia is exploiting Sudan’s natural resources,” the former US official told CNN. Moscow, which has been subject to heavy sanctions, “benefits from contacts with the Sudanese generals and helps the generals stay in power,” he explained, adding that “this “assistance” covers a wide range – from training and intelligence support to mutually benefiting from the stolen. gold of Sudan.”
The role of Prigozhin and PMC Wagner
CNN says businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, once dubbed “Putin’s chef” by the Russian media, plays a key role in cooperation between Moscow and Khartoum. In Sudan, the main instrument of the 61-year-old Russian businessman under international sanctions “is Meroe Gold, a subsidiary of Prigozhin’s M-invest, the investigation indicates. Meroe Gold “mines gold and at the same time providing weapons and training to the country’s army. and paramilitaries, according to accounts seen by CNN,” the reporters said.
CNN has learned, in cooperation with the Dossier Center, that the control of operations in the main areas of production, processing and transfer of gold in Sudan is controlled by Alexander Kuznetsov, a high-ranking employee of PMC Wagner, who is also associated with Prigozhin. Kuznetsov, also known as Ratibor and Radimir, “is a four-time recipient of the Russian Order of Courage and was photographed in 2017 with Putin and Dmitry Utkin, the founder of Wagner PMC. The EU imposed sanctions against Kuznetsov in 2021,” journalists pointed out.
According to CNN, in the past year and a half, at least 16 planes with gold have been shipped from Sudan to Russia. The flights were carried out by “military aircraft, which followed the Syrian port city of Latakia, where Russia has a large air base.” In addition, there is also a land route through which the gold is transported to the Central African Republic, in the Central African Republic, where the Wagner PMC “supports the repressive regime.”
The American media company says that Russia’s expansion into Sudan began after the annexation of Crimea, and the supply of gold is considered an effective way of avoiding sanctions.
Source: DW
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.