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Wagner Group mercenaries are shipping vast quantities of so-called \u2018blood gold\u2019 out of Africa, boosting Vladimir Putin\u2019s war chest by \u00a32billion since the start of his war on Ukraine, a new study has suggested.<\/p>\n
The Blood Gold Report, which was published today by a team of human rights campaigners, tracks destabilising activities and human rights violations committed by Kremlin-backed mercenaries, including the Wagner Group, in support of resource extraction schemes in several different countries.<\/p>\n
One of its authors accused Wagner – formerly led by Yevgeny Prigozhin until his death in a plane crash earlier this year – of \u201cspreading violence and instability across the continent\u201d. Meanwhile another said complicit Western companies \u201cneeded to be held accountable\u201d.<\/p>\n
The report identifies three distinct models of Blood Gold extraction related to three African nations.<\/p>\n
In the Central African Republic (CAR, a Wagner front company has been handed exclusive rights to the Ndassima mine, which is the country\u2019s largest gold mine, in return for propping up an authoritarian regime.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: <\/strong> The Eastern European country bracing itself for invasion by Vladimir Putin<\/strong><\/p>\n In Sudan, \u201cthe Russian company\u201d controls a major refinery which has allowed Wagner to become the dominant buyer of unprocessed Sudanese gold, with multiple accounts of Russian military transport planes shipping processed gold out of the country.<\/p>\n In Mali, Russian mercenaries are paid in cash – \u00a38.6 million per month according to US Intelligence services – by a military junta which relies on a small number of international mining companies for the majority of its tax revenue. Canada\u2019s Barrick Gold – the country\u2019s top taxpayer – paid \u00a3164 million to the junta in the first half of 2023 alone.<\/p>\n In CAR and Sudan, where Wagner-linked entities are already subject to international sanctions, Kremlin actors use complex smuggling routes and corporate subterfuge tactics in order to extract large amounts of blood gold out of Africa. They are transported to destinations including Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where it can be mixed with other legitimate sources of gold and then converted to cash.<\/p>\n The Kremlin\u2019s approach to Mali is specifically designed to avoid sanctions, the report explains. Research indicates that the four biggest mining companies operating in Mali – Barrick Gold Corporation, B2Gold, Resolute Mining and Allied Gold Corporation – continue to deliver millions in revenue to the military junta which seized control in May 2021. This is despite the growing concerns about the humanitarian situation and documented human rights abuses including the Moura massacre in which more than 500 civilians were killed by Malian troops together with Wagner mercenaries.<\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> The report recommends a range of measures which, if taken collectively, have the potential to disrupt Wagner and Russia\u2019s Blood Gold operations, and deliver a sizeable financial blow to the Kremlin, benefiting both African security and the defence of Ukraine.<\/p>\n These measures include: widening sanctions; introducing stringent supply chain controls; demanding real responsibility from international mining companies; designating Wagner a terrorist group; closing gaps in the existing sanctions framework; and increasing support to African democratic states threatened by Wagner operations.<\/p>\n The report was authored by a team of researchers including Jessica Berlin, Political Analyst & African-European Relations Expert, David Clement, Senior Fellow, 21 Democracy, Elizabeth Hicks, US Affairs Analyst at Consumer Choice Centre, Lanre Peter Elufisan, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Ominira Initiative for Economic Advancement, Zoltan Kesz, Former Hungarian MP and civil activist.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/78\/590x\/secondary\/Yevgeny-Prigozhin-5112314.jpg?r=1702419745647\")
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