While Russia’s military intervention against Ukraine on February 24 continued, a striking claim came from the United States. The US media claimed that Russia plundered Sudan’s gold through the mercenary group ‘Wagner’ in order to finance its intervention in Ukraine. While it is stated that approximately 40 thousand tons of gold is looted annually, it is stated that the Russian oligarch Yevgeni Prigozin is at the head of this gold looting operation.
PLANES FULL OF GOLD LEAVES
Russia allegedly plundered Sudan’s gold to finance the Ukrainian war through the mercenary group Wagner. According to the US media, the size of the looted gold is close to 40,000 tons per year. According to CNN International, planes full of gold took off from the airport in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, 16 times in 1.5 years.
While Sudan is the third largest gold producer in Africa, the reasons for Russia’s realization of this move are cited as getting out of the economic sanctions imposed by the West with the least damage and keeping its economy alive.
While it is emphasized that Russia supports the Sudanese government against gold, he states that according to US experts, Russia also supports the 2021 military coup in Sudan.
THE OPERATION HAS PRIGOZIN AT THE HEART
While there is no definite data on how much gold was smuggled out of the country, it is stated that the Russian oligarch Yevgeni Prigozin was at the head of Russia’s gold smuggling operation from Sudan. Prigozin controls many questionable companies, including Wagner.
Yevgeny Prigojin is on Putin’s left
‘HERO OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION’ AWARDED
The head of the Wagner group, Yevgeni Prigozhin, was recently awarded the “Hero of the Russian Federation” for the group’s performance in Luhansk.