UK imposes sanctions on entities linked to Sudan’s gold trade
The UK has imposed sanctions on 11 individuals and companies accused of profiting from Sudan’s illicit gold trade in a bid to cut off a key source of funding for the country’s civil war, reports BritPanorama.
The measures target businesses and individuals linked to both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the military factions engaged in conflict. This includes three state-owned mining companies and firms based in the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) stated that Sudan’s gold industry had become the engine of the war economy, with billions of dollars’ worth of gold smuggled out of the country each year to fund weapons purchases and military operations.
“The people of Sudan continue to pay the price for a war fuelled not only by guns and fighters, but by illicit flows of gold and finance to fill the war chests on both sides,” Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said. “These sanctions are targeting Sudan’s war economy and they will shine a light on those who seek to profit from these illegal shadow networks.”
Among those sanctioned is Abu Dharr Abdul Nabi Habiballa Ahmmed, identified as an RSF financier who used a network of companies in Dubai to fund the paramilitary group. UAE-based firms allegedly involved in RSF procurement are also included in the sanctions, alongside three Sudanese state-owned mining companies accused of generating gold revenues for the SAF.
Official exports were valued at $1.5 billion in 2024 and 2025, according to the UK, but the true value of the trade is believed to be several times higher due to billions of dollars’ worth of gold being smuggled out of the country through illicit channels.
Additionally, the UK has warned that the strategic city of El Obeid is at risk of becoming “another El Fasher,” calling for the United Nations arms embargo on Sudan to be extended beyond Darfur.
El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, has faced months of siege and humanitarian hardship. The advancing RSF are encircling the city, cutting off supply routes while launching repeated drone attacks on fuel, infrastructure, and storage sites. An estimated 500,000 civilians are at risk.
Ms Cooper remarked in a parliamentary debate earlier this month that she raised concerns about El Obeid with allies during the recent NATO summit in Ankara, expressing her deep fears regarding the potential for mass bloodshed and civilian casualties.
“Last year, El Fasher became the site of unspeakable violence and suffering, atrocities that the UN’s fact-finding mission concluded bore the hallmarks of genocide. The world must not fail the people of Sudan again,” she cautioned.
The situation remains precarious in Sudan as developments unfold, revealing the intersection of conflict and resource exploitation in the region.
