The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Department of the Treasury has designated one individual and four companies pursuant to Executive Order 14024 for supporting or acting on behalf of Yevgeniy Prigozhin, who is designated by the United States under Executive Orders 14024, 13848, 13694, and 13661, as well as by the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
All of the current designees are associated with precious mineral sales benefitting PMC Wagner (commonly known as the Wagner Group), which is headed by Prigozhin and was itself designated by OFAC pursuant to Executive Order 13660 in June 2017. The designated companies include two entities based in the Central African Republic: Midas Ressources SARLU, a mining company, and Diamville SAU, a gold and diamond purchasing company. The other two designated companies, also connected with gold sales from the CAR, are Industrial Resources General Trading, based in Dubai, and Limited Liability Company DM, based in Russia.
Andrey Nikolayevch Ivanov is the individual designated by OFAC alongside the companies described above. Ivanov, a Russian national, has worked with Africa Politology, a US-sanctioned organization connected with Prigozhin that tries to discredit the UN, suppress information about the Wagner group’s activities in Africa, and prevent countries that promote good governance and human rights from maintaining a presence in Africa.
As a result of these designations, all property and interests in property of these five designees within the United States or within the possession or control of a US person are blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving the designated persons.
Concurrently with these designations, the US Departments of State, Homeland Security, Labor, Commerce, and the Treasury, have, together with the United States Agency for International Development, issued an advisory on the risks connected with gold mining and trade in sub-Saharan Africa. These risks include money laundering, sanctions evasion, human rights abuse, conflict and terror financing, and environmental degradation.
US Department of the Treasury press release | Africa Gold Advisory