Sudan

150-300

Wagner maintained between 150 and 300 personnel in Sudan throughout 2018–2020.

15

Wagner Group established at least 15 known bases in Sudan.

$1 billion +

Billions of dollars' worth of smuggled Sudanese gold directly funded the Kremlin's military operations in Ukraine.

BACKGROUND

 

The Wagner Group’s involvement in Sudan began in 2017, around the time of the November 2017 visit of former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to Sochi, where the two countries signed military cooperation and mining concession agreements. Wagner initially provided security and managed mining concessions before establishing at least 15 known bases in Sudan, with at least one in Wadi Sayyidna serving as a training facility. Internal company documents indicate that Wagner maintained between 150 and 300 personnel in Sudan throughout 2018–2020, significantly fewer than they did in the Central African Republic (CAR) and Libya during the same time.

For most of the group’s history in Sudan, Khartoum served as a focal point for Wagner’s operations, with the majority of the group’s bases located within the city. Company documents also indicate Wagner’s presence in Port Sudan, where Russia and Sudan agreed in 2019 to construct a logistics hub and naval base. However, political instability in Sudan stalled the deal, prompting Russia to formally shelve the plan in early 2024. Oleg Leontyevich Makarevich, then deputy chief of the Russian navy, likely facilitated the 2019 agreement. Makarevich’s name appeared as a Sudan-related contact in internal Wagner documentation and in several entries in Prigozhin’s personal calendar. Wagner also cultivated close ties with the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its leader, General Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo. These relationships predated the outbreak of conflict in Sudan in April 2023.

Military Activities and Alliances

Although the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) has recorded instances of violence against civilians by Russian forces in Sudan, there is a lack of reliable and publicly available data specifically linking Wagner to such violence. However, reports have surfaced of Wagner personnel committing acts of violence against Sudanese migrant workers in the CAR and other countries. ACLED documented at least four incidents of military activity in Sudan involving Wagner and the RSF. These incidents include three movements of Wagner-led convoys of military carriers—the first on November 22, 2023 in Al Fasher (North Darfur), the second on November 22, 2023 in Nyala Janoub (South Darfur), and the third on September 9, 2023 in Abu Surug (West Darfur)—as well as one instance of Wagner supplying the RSF with surface-to-air missiles in Khartoum on May 26, 2023. Wagner has also utilized air bases in Libya to supply anti-aircraft missiles to the RSF in Sudan. The RSF has been accused of engaging in systematic mass rape and murder, potentially qualifying as crimes against humanity.

Gold Mining Operations

According to internal company documents, the organization began operating a major gold mine at al-Ibaidiya in February 2019. They later established a second significant mining operation in Khartoum, likely in 2021. Beyond these two primary sites, Wagner maintained connections to at least seven affiliated enterprises across Sudan. Wagner’s control of gold mining operations enabled Russia to smuggle substantial quantities of gold out of the country, even resorting to concealing exports in cookie boxes to evade detection. Alexander “Ratibor” Kuznetsov, the longtime commander of Wagner’s First Assault Detachment, oversaw the al-Ibaidiya mine.

The billions of dollars’ worth of smuggled Sudanese gold directly funded the Kremlin’s military operations in Ukraine. This influx of wealth helped Russia mitigate the impact of sanctions imposed after its initial incursion into Crimea in 2014 and following its full-scale invasion in 2022.

Sanctions Evasion

Wagner-linked companies attempted to skirt sanctions from various countries for their role in perpetuating violence and political instability in Sudan. For example, under sanctions from the United States and European Union, the Prigozhin-linked firm Meroe Gold changed its name to Al-Solag. Several enterprises affiliated with Meroe Gold have emerged in jurisdictions such as Thailand and Hong Kong, including Shine Dragon Group Limited, Shen Yang Jing Cheng Machinery Imp & Exp. Co., and Zhe Jiang Jiayi Small Commodities Trade Company Limited.

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