JPMorgan and HSBC unknowingly processed payments for companies controlled by Yevgeny Prigozhins Wagner mercenary group, according to a new report by the United States -based Center for Advanced Defense Studies(C4ADS).According to the center,Wagner was able to establish anearly foothold in Africa during the mid-2010s thanks to access it had to an internationalnetwork of financial services and transportation networks to move supplies and generate revenue.Intermediary banks and shipping companies formed crucial linkages between PMC Wagnersearly mining activities and the wider international economic system, C4ADS said in the report published Tuesday.The report highlighted that Prigozhins Sudanese mining firm, Meroe Gold, purchased industrial equipment, diesel generators and spare parts from China in 2017.
The payments, made from a local bank account, were processed through JPMorgan Chase and HSBC Groups Hang Seng Bank as intermediaries.Prigozhin had been under United States sanctions since 2016, and Meroe Gold was sanctioned in 2018 for being owned or controlled by Prigozhin and assisting him in exploiting Sudans natural resources for personal gain.Washington has accused the Wagner Group of committing atrocities in Africa, including mass executions, rape and child abductions.
In January 2023, the United States designated it as a transnational criminal organization, and the Treasury Departmentsanctionedconnected individuals and companies.The Financial Times, which first reported on the C4ADS findings, wrote that neither JPMorgan nor HSBC were found to have knowingly handled transactions for Wagners front companies.
JPMorgan told the newspaper it could not locate details matching the transactions in question, while HSBC expressed a deep commitment to fighting financial crime but declined to comment on specific transactions.Following Prigozhins death in August 2023, Russias Defense Ministry absorbed Wagners operations across Africa.
InMay last year, the group was believed to have around5,000mercenaries stationed in Africa many of whom were former Russian soldiers and convicts.