UK sanctions Wagner-linked officials in rest of Africa

London — Britain on Thursday sanctioned 13 individuals and businesses in the Central African Republic (CAR), Mali and Sudan with links to Russia’s Wagner Group, including one it described as the “right-hand man” of the group’s founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The British government said it had added Wagner officials to its sanctions list, accusing them of being responsible for executions and torture in Mali and the CAR and of threats to peace and security in Sudan.

The sanctions come weeks after Prigozhin’s failed mutiny in Russia, which raised questions about the future of Wagner’s military and commercial operations in countries including the CAR.

Newly sanctioned Konstantin Pikalyov, who now faces asset freezes in the UK and a travel ban, is an important adviser of Prigozhin’s as well as the operational head of Wagner in the CAR, the British government said in a statement.

“Wherever Wagner operates, it has a catastrophic effect on communities, worsens existing conflicts and damages the reputations of countries that host them,” Britain’s minister for development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, said.

Among others sanctioned were Vitaly Perfilov in the CAR and Alexander Maloletko, who it called a close associate of Prigozhin, plus Ivan Maslov, the head of the Wagner Group in Mali.

In Sudan, Britain added Mikhail Potepkin, who it said is associated with the Wagner Group as well as being a director of mining company Meroe Gold.

Meroe Gold was among three businesses the government said it sanctioned in Sudan for acting as fronts for the Wagner Group and threatening peace and security. It said Meroe Gold imported equipment including weapons, helicopters and military trucks.

Reuters