EU sanctions Russia-based Wagner Group for torture and arbitrary execution
The European Union has imposed sanctions against Russian private military company (‘PMC’), the Wagner Group. It said on 13 December that it had adopted measures against the ‘Russia-based unincorporated private military entity’ targeting ‘the Wagner group itself, and eight individuals and three entities connected to it.’
The EU said in a statement, ‘The Wagner Group has recruited, trained and sent private military operatives to conflict zones around the world to fuel violence, loot natural resources and intimidate civilians in violation of international law, including international human rights law.
‘The individuals listed by the EU are involved in serious human rights abuses, including torture and extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings, or in destabilising activities in some of the countries they operate in, including Libya, Syria, Ukraine (Donbas) and the Central African Republic. The group is also spreading its malign influence elsewhere, notably in the Sahel region. For these reasons the group constitutes a threat for the people in the countries where they are present, the wider region and for the European Union.’
It said that the measures were agreed under four different sanctions regimes: the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, sanctions regimes relating to the situation in Libya and Syria, and actions undermining Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
George Voloshin, head of the Paris branch of the financial crime consultancy Aperio Intelligence, told WorldECR that the move ‘did not come out of the blue,’ pointing out that several high-profile Western politicians, including French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, had recently identified the group as responsible for long-standing human rights abuses and other illegal activities across Africa.
He said: ‘Despite all the symbolism, as is often the case with EU sanctions, their real impact on the designees will be limited. The United States sanctioned the Wagner Group and its leader back in 2017, and several new rounds of sanctions against connected individuals and companies followed in 2020.
‘Given the massive reliance of such foreign mercenary organisations as Wagner on the US dollar, an OFAC designation bites significantly more than the one made by the EU in terms of cutting off sanctions targets from the Eurozone. Even then, mercenaries more often than not use unofficial financial circuits rather than formal banking channels to move funds around, thanks to the global abundance of offshore dollars. This limits the efficacy of any sanctions against similar PMCs unless their leaders are physically brought to justice and/or as long as they continue to enjoy backing from certain state actors with access to plentiful financial resources.’
