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The Russian paramilitary group Wagner (and then its variations), has captured more than 2.5 billion US dollars generated by illegal gold mining, since the invasion of Ukraine according to a damning report from the World Gold Council. gold. Sums which were used to finance the Russian war apparatus in Ukraine.
The Russian Wagner paramilitary militia, long led by Evgueni Prigogine, a close friend of Vladimir Putin who died in August 2023 in the mysterious crash of his plane – and has now become “African Corps” under the control of the Kremlin and two other Russian companies (Convoy and Redut) – has increased its presence in several African countries where it seeks more to capture the resources than to protect the populations.
In an eye-opening report released on December 12 titled “Silence is golden. A report on artisanal miners exploited to finance war, terrorism and organized crime”, the World Gold Council denounces the criminal practices of Wagner, who has been “one of the largest beneficiaries of the trade illicit gold. It is estimated that more than US$2.5 billion has been generated from illegal gold mining since the invasion of Ukraine and has been used to finance the Russian war apparatus,” says the report.
Rape and torture by Russian forces
“Artisanal gold miners experience a range of violence, from direct attacks and threats by government forces or state-funded mercenaries, including the Wagner Group, to abuse and exploitation by criminal gangs , bandits and, in the case of fragile states, armed insurgent groups,” the report said, referring to global gold crime. “In some cases, mercenaries hired and acting independently of one or more governments are responsible for systematic human rights violations. The Russian Wagner group is the most active, and was directly linked to the Kremlin in Moscow,” underlines the report, which mentions an edifying CBS investigation in May 2023 into the abuses committed.
“In September 2021, in the northwest of the Central African Republic, there were reports of a large-scale military assault on the town of Kouki. The attacks resulted in the arbitrary execution of civilians who prevented Russian mercenaries from seizing the local gold mine, and killing artisanal miners in order to plunder their resources. There are similar accounts of executions, rapes and torture committed by Russian forces against artisanal miners in Ndassima. In another 2021 attack on the town of Bambari, which was surrounded by artisanal gold mines, witnesses reported aerial bombardments on the local community. »
The British House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee has also documented the “trail of atrocities in virtually every theater where [le groupe Wagner] operated,” functioning “like an international criminal mafia, fueling corruption and plundering natural resources,” noting that “its wealth creation is largely in Africa.”
DDM – Philippe Rioux
The report said Prigogine’s death “did not halt Russia’s plunder of natural resources across the world, from Libya to the Central African Republic (CAR). On the contrary, the Kremlin seized this opportunity to regain control of this lucrative trade. »
For example in the Central African Republic (CAR), the report mentions the deal made between Wagner’s mercenaries (now under the control of the Russian Ministry of Defense) and President Faustin-Archange Touadéra: “an exchange between resources and security, [qui] authorizes serious human rights violations. » In Mali, the Wagner group took control of an artisanal gold mine in Intahaka in February 2024.
Facility to conduct illegal business operations
The report also highlights the extreme ease with which “the Wagner group can register new companies, change the names of their directors and transfer its financial flows with relative ease and with complete impunity. The combination of weak law enforcement and a lack of transparency regarding beneficial ownership of companies has given the Wagner Group wide latitude to conduct its illegal business operations. »
“The gold looted by Wagner can be brought back to Russia directly via the Russian military base in Latakia, Syria, or indirectly via international gold trading centers, circumventing international sanctions,” explains the World Council report gold. The fall of Bashar al-Assad could also create difficulties with the Latakia base.
World Gold Council calls for action
Ultimately, the World Gold Council believes that “the International Criminal Court must take into account, as part of its investigation in Ukraine, the possible criminal liability of those who facilitate the processing, laundering and illegal transfer of profits from the Wagner group to the Russian war machine.
And that “governments should issue Magnitsky Act sanctions, visa bans and asset freezes against leaders and officials who collaborate with the Wagner Group or any comparable organization. »
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