Treasury Department to list Wagner Group as ‘transnational criminal organization’
Mike Brest
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The Treasury Department is set to designate the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary organization, as a “transnational criminal organization,” the National Security Council announced on Friday.
The Wagner Group, which has operated in several African nations in recent years, has roughly 50,000 personnel deployed in Ukraine, including 10,000 contractors and another 40,000 convicts who had been in Russian prisons prior to joining the war, according to National Security Council coordinator John Kirby, who briefed the media on the new designation.
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“Today we are announcing additional actions that we are taking to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian and Wagner forces,” he said. “First, the Department of Treasury will be designating Wagner as a significant transnational criminal organization under Executive Order 13581 as amended. In coordination with this designation, we will also impose additional sanctions next week against Wagner and its support network across multiple continents. These actions recognize the transcontinental threat that Wagner poses, including through its ongoing pattern of serious criminal activity.”
The designation will “open up additional avenues for us to continue to not only sanction Wagner and put more squeeze on their ability to do business around the world, but will assist others in doing the same,” he continued. “It will broaden the network of nations and institutions that will be able to stop doing business with Wagner.”
There are “mounting tensions” between Wagner, led by Yevgeniy Prigozhin, and the Russian Ministry of Defense in part due to Prigozhin’s self-promotion of his troops, he mentioned.
Prigozhin’s troops have largely conducted the Russians’ assault on the eastern town of Soledar and the larger city of Bakhmut, where the fighting has been repeatedly described as intense by U.S. officials. Both cities are mining towns, and Kirby indicated that the possible financial incentive of capturing a mining town was not lost on the Wagner Group.
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“Wagner is becoming a rival power center to the Russian military and other Russian ministries. Publicly, Prigozhin and his fighters have criticized Russian generals and defense officials for their performance on the battlefield. Prigozhin is trying to advance his own interest in Ukraine, and Wagner is making military decisions based largely on what they will generate for Prigozhin in terms of positive publicity,” Kirby said.
The National Security Council spokesman also revealed imagery that he said showed North Korean military deliveries to Russia. The intelligence, he said, showed five Russian rail cars that traveled from Russia to North Korea on Nov. 18 of last year and that a day later, North Korea loaded those rail cars with military equipment before they returned to Russia. The North Korean assistance “has not changed battlefield dynamics,” though officials expect North Korea will continue to supply Russia with weapons systems.