Wagner mercenaries with Belarusian soldiers in Belarus Photo: Belarus' Department of Defense
The United States and Europe have sanctioned about twice as many individuals associated with the Russian paramilitary organization Wagner Group as the United Kingdom, a group of senior MPs said.
A new parliamentary report criticizes «scandalous failure» in her approach to sanctions against Yevgeny Prigozhin's private military company, which she said lags behind other Western countries and was «grossly unsatisfactory.»
The House Select Committee on Foreign Affairs has described the UK government's «significant failure» in tracking the Wagner Group's operations outside of Ukraine, which stretch across Africa and the Middle East.
The government has been asked «urgently» to designate Wagner a terrorist organization as the committee advised him to «seize the opportunity» to disrupt his network «when its future is uncertain» following the crackdown on the Russian insurgency by Wagner's chief last month.
Of the 44 identified individuals who were sanctioned in US, European Union and UK jurisdictions for direct association with the Wagner group or for «relevant activities in support of Prigozhin», the US has sanctioned 61% and the EU — 68%, while the UK has imposed sanctions on only 34%.Yevgeny Prigozhin was sanctioned by the UK, but the Wagner network was a blind spot for the government Photo: Prigozhin's press office
Among the 37 affiliates listed in the report, the UK sanctioned 13.5%, the European Union 43%, and the US — 81%.
The report says: «UK efforts to impose sanctions on the Wagner network are grossly unsatisfactory compared to the efforts of the European Union and the United States.»
A report released on Wednesday acknowledged that the UK may have imposed sanctions on additional targets «without specifying» their links to Wagner or its founder, but said Leo Doherty, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Foreign Office, «doesn't seem to be sure.» in why the UK may have imposed sanctions on fewer individuals and entities than the US and EU, suggesting that this may be due to the fact that they are «bigger».
The report adds: «The Minister's responses leave us with limited confidence that the UK is coordinating effectively with its allies to share intelligence on the Wagner network and impose sanctions on the individuals and entities involved.»
Report. also criticized the government's assertion that sanctions against the Wagner Group «were automatically extended to all organizations owned or controlled by Wagner, which, due to the complexity, was 'completely unrealistic'».
Wagner Group Global Operations
«This makes it possible, if not probable, that Wagner-linked entities continue to benefit from access to UK financial markets.» a scandalous failure to exercise due diligence.»
«At worst, this could mean that the UK is inadvertently undermining the efforts of our allies.»
The committee expressed concern that the government lacks knowledge and policy on «other malicious» private military companies, which they believe are likely to grow in number as more governments seek to establish them to «protect their geopolitical and economic interests» .
Alicia Kearns, Chair of the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, said: «We are deeply concerned about the Government's dismal understanding of Wagner's influence outside of Europe, in particular his influence on African states.»
“This is a fundamental flaw in a unified government; ministers appear to be in denial about the consequences of failing to tackle this damaging business model before it takes hold.
“If we are to undermine the Wagner network, we need to cut the network's wealth at its source. We urge the government to impose sanctions on organizations and individuals supporting Wagner faster and harder than before.
Russian military contractor Wagner
«We are not convinced that the government's 'sanction' against this group truly covers the complex network of organizations behind it.»
The Wagner Group has played a central role in Russia's offensive operations in Ukraine since the invasion of the country in February 2022 year, led the fighting in the eastern city of Bakhmut, captured by Russian troops in May after one of the bloodiest battles of the war.
However, Wagner first took shape in 2014 when he began his military activities in Ukraine the same year Russia annexed Crimea. It later expanded to at least six other countries, including Syria, the Central African Republic, Sudan, Libya, Mozambique and Mali.
The report of the Special Committee on Foreign Affairs lists six more countries, including Afghanistan and Serbia, where it believed «with moderate confidence» that the group was also operating.
Wagner Group mercenaries around Central African President Faustin -Archange Touadera Photo: LEGER SERGE KOKPAKPA/REUTERS
The government was criticized in the report for not investing more resources into studying Wagner until early 2022, and the committee said it did not received «no evidence of any serious government effort to monitor Network activity in countries other than Ukraine.»
The mercenary group «offered personal protection to leaders», «suppressed security threats in the form of political protests and opposition», and «offered political advisory services to strengthen the current regime» in the countries in which it operated.
< p>The report blames the group's activities as a «contributor to the disruption of order in Sudan» when conflict erupted in April, displacing almost three million people.
The organization is not a «direct proxies» of Russia, according to report, «although the Russian state has occasionally directed, assisted and supported its military operations, especially in Libya and Ukraine.»
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