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“Wagner” private military company mines gold in Sudan to support the ruble and soften sanctions against Russia

Author:
Anna Kholodnova
Date:

Russiaʼs unofficial military organization, Wagner private military company, has gained control of gold production in Sudan and is using the resource to replenish Russiaʼs gold and foreign exchange reserves and mitigate the effects of sanctions against Russia.

This is stated in the investigation of The New York Times.

The journalists obtained documents proving that the Wagnerians control the extraction of Sudanese gold and use these funds to support the ruble in the face of economic sanctions against Russia. The potential increase in the Kremlinʼs gold reserves could reach $130 billion.

In 2017, in Sochi, then-Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir met with Russian President Putin. Omar Hassan al-Bashir was losing power in the country, so he offered Putin access to minerals and the Sudanese coast in exchange for military aid.

After this meeting, geologists and mineralogists who worked in the newly established mining company Meroe Gold arrived in Sudan from Russia.

According to journalists, Meroe Gold director Mikhail Potepkin previously worked for the Internet Research Agency, also known as the Kremlinʼs "troll factory." This organization is controlled by Eugene Prigozhin — "Putinʼs cook" and curator of Wagner.

In response to a request from The New York Times, Wagner curator Eugene Prigozhin denied his involvement in gold mining in Sudan, as well as the very existence of Wagner.