UK Sanctions Illicit Gold Networks in Sudan

Moatinoon
The United Kingdom on Thursday announced a new package of sanctions targeting illicit gold trading, procurement networks and financial facilitators that it says are helping sustain the war in Sudan, while warning of a rapidly deteriorating security situation around El Obeid in North Kordofan.

In a statement, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the measures target 11 Sudanese individuals and entities suspected of being linked to financing, procurement and commercial networks supporting either the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) or the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The statement noted that those sanctioned operate internationally, including in the gold markets of Dubai and Hong Kong.

The UK said Sudans gold sector has become the engine of the countrys war economy. While official gold exports were valued at 1.5 billion in 2024 and 2025, the true value of the industry is believed to be several times higher, with billions of dollars worth of gold smuggled out of Sudan each year to finance arms purchases, military operations and the activities of armed groups.

The sanctions package places particular focus on Sudanese national Abu Dharr, whom the UK describes as a key RSF financier and procurement facilitator allegedly using a network of Dubai-based real estate, gold and holding companies to sustain RSF operations outside Sudan.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Sudanese people continue to pay the price for a war fuelled not only by weapons and fighters but also by illicit flows of gold and finance supporting both sides of the conflict. She said the sanctions are aimed at disrupting Sudans war economy and exposing those profiting from illegal financial networks.

Cooper also renewed the UKs call on the RSF to halt its offensive around El Obeid, stressing that those enabling atrocities—from the battlefield to financial and commercial networks—will be held accountable.

The sanctions come as the UK and its international partners closely monitor the worsening situation around El Obeid, warning that the city could become the site of another mass atrocity similar to the violence witnessed in El Fasher.

The UK also called for the UN arms embargo to be expanded to cover El Obeid and said illicit gold will be a central theme at its Illicit Finance Summit, scheduled to take place in London in December 2026, bringing together governments, civil society and the private sector to strengthen international cooperation against illicit financial flows, including the illegal gold trade.