Breaking: US Sanctions Businesses in Sudan Conflict

US Sanctions Businesses Fueling Both Sides of Sudan Conflict

June 1, 2023 (Washington, DC) – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) leveled sanctions on companies linked to the two warring sides of the armed conflict in Sudan, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The sanctions target two companies affiliated with the RSF, Al Junaid Multi Activities Co Ltd and Tradive General Trading L.L.C., and two companies affiliated with the SAF, Defense Industries System and Sudan Master Technology, with the objective of depriving the warring factions of “resources needed to pay soldiers, rearm, resupply, and wage war in Sudan.” 

John Prendergast, Co-Founder of The Sentry, said: “Sanctioning companies that have been profiting from human misery and exploitation is a great start to creating some accountability for the enormous suffering Sudan’s population has experienced.  This should be followed by the imposition of a rapidly escalating set of measures against the entire network of companies owned by the RSF and SAF, as well as on key architects of the violence against civilian populations.  These initial actions are necessary but by no means sufficient in moving the calculation of the two warring parties.”

Anrike Visser, Senior Advisor on Illicit Finance Policy to The Sentry, said: “Gold, arms, vehicles — Today the USG sanctions the economic interests and facilitators of the unnecessary conflict in Sudan. For years, the RSF and SAF have used these companies to loot the country and resist civilian oversight. Now the international community takes a stance on the side of the people by cutting off the financial drivers of unimaginable pain and suffering.”

Read the TIME op-ed by The Sentry’s Co-Founders George Clooney and John Prendergast: “How the International Community Failed Sudan”

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About The Sentry
(Short descriptor for press use: “The Sentry, an investigative organization that tracks corruption”)

The Sentry is an investigative and policy organization that seeks to disable multinational predatory networks that benefit from violent conflict, repression, and kleptocracy. Pull back the curtain on wars, mass atrocities, and other human rights abuses, and you’ll find grand corruption and unchecked greed. These tragedies persist because the perpetrators rarely face meaningful consequences. The Sentry aims to alter the warped incentive structures that continually undermine peace and good governance. Our investigations follow the money as it is laundered from war zones to financial centers around the world. We provide evidence and strategies for governments, banks, and law enforcement to hold the perpetrators and enablers of violence and corruption to account. These efforts provide new leverage for human rights, peace, and anti-corruption efforts. Learn more: www.TheSentry.org