U.S. blacklists two Wagner Group-linked companies in Central African Republic

May 31 (UPI) -- The United States has sanctioned two companies linked to the Wagner Group, an infamous Russia-backed private military, as the Biden administration targets the Kremlin's actions in the Central African Republic.

The Kremlin-backed Wagner Group became widely known over its brutal actions at the forefront of Russia's war in Ukraine, but it has been active in Africa for years, spearheading Moscow's destabilizing activities on the continent.

Since 2017, the private military has been in the Central African Republic, where it has established a business network of companies, including in the mining sector, which U.S. officials say forward Russia's goals in the region at the expense of the nation's sovereignty.

"The Russia-backed Wagner Group and its network of businesses have exploited the people and natural resources of the Central African Republic to advance the group's agenda," Brian Nelson, under secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said Thursday in a statement.

The Treasury on Thursday sanctioned Mining Industries SARLU and Logistique Economique Etrangere SARLU, two CAR-based companies that aid the Wagner group.

According to the federal agency, Mining Industries used to lease aircraft to Kratol Aviation, which the Biden administration sanctioned in early 2023 for its support of the Wagner Group.

Mining Industries is also accused of letting the private military use its staff and equipment in CAR and of importing chemicals that the Treasury said were believed to be used for mining activities connected to the Wagner Group.

Logistique Economique Etrangere was hit for having transported hundreds of shipments of heavy materials for a Russia-based company sanctioned in March that were intended for a Wagner Group-linked mining activity.

Sanctions generally freeze all U.S. assets in the designated person or company's name will barring U.S. persons from doing business with them.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller accused the Wagner Group of having committed "widespread human rights abuses" and of appropriating natural resources across several African nations, and said the companies blacklisted Thursday played "a vital role" in its security operation and illicit mining in CAR.

"Today's action reflects our continued efforts to counter the Wagner Group's damaging and destabilizing presence in Africa," Miller said in a statement. "The United States remains committed to deterring and disrupting Russia's destabilizing activities."

The United States first sanctioned the Wagner Group in 2017, and since Russia's war in Ukraine has targeted to the companies that aid it.