P1 - The Wagner Group in Sudan | Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime

P1 - The Wagner Group in Sudan | Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime

Part 1: “Who are these guys and what are they doing here?”

In late February 2022, Airport workers in Khartoum International Airport in Sudan are stood glued to television screens, watching Russian tanks entering the outskirts of Kyiv in Ukraine. But just outside on the runway, a Russian cargo plane laden with cookies was about to take off, heading to Latakia on the coast of Syria.

Earlier that day, officials had inspected the aircraft, suspicious of the cargo manifest. It turned out they were right to be suspicious, because hidden under the cookies was gold. A ton of gold. But the military arrived and the plane was waived through.

Gold is Sudan’s largest export, although 80% of that is thought to be smuggled out of the country. The industry has a number of players, including the Rapid Support Forces who are currently locked in battle with its rival the Sudanese Armed Forces . But there is also another active group that works alongside both these two forces and has its eyes firmly on Sudanese gold - the Wagner Group.

Speaker(s):

Kholood Khair - the Founder and Director of Confluence Advisory, Khartoum.

Ken Opala, the Field Network Coordinator for East and Southern Africa, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.

Mohanad Hashim, freelance Sudanese journalist, currently working at the BBC.

Justin Lynch, researcher, and author of Sudan’s Unfinished Democracy.

Additional Reading:

(GI Paper)The grey zone: Russia's military, mercenary and criminal engagement in Africa

(GI Paper) Going for Gold: Russia, sanctions and illicit gold trade

'If you desert, we'll execute you': 'Putin's chef' recruits convicts for war Yevgeny Prigozhin: UK reviews rules after Wagner head sued journalist

UK exposes sick Russian troll factory plaguing social media with Kremlin propaganda

Fake news and public executions: Documents show a Russian company’s plan for quelling protests in Sudan

Wagner chief admits to founding Russian troll farm sanctioned for meddling in US elections

Ukraine capital Kyiv endures Russian onslaught - BBC News

Russia is plundering gold in Sudan to boost Putin’s war effort in Ukraine

Sudan TV broadcast taken off air after loud bangs during military clashes

CNN - How Russia could be stealing over $13 billion of gold a year from Sudan

Sudan fighting: RSF and...

Episoder(49)

Dethroning BigBoss: The Fall of Archetyp | Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime

Dethroning BigBoss: The Fall of Archetyp | Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime

Inspired by the ethos of Silk Road and the lifespans of Agora and Dream Market, a new player emerged from the shadows of Tor in 2020: Archetyp. Built on promises of security, usability, and “ethical” ...

29 Sep 20251h

Living Together: The Gangs of Haiti - Part 3: "Wake Up! The Bandits Are Coming!" | Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime

Living Together: The Gangs of Haiti - Part 3: "Wake Up! The Bandits Are Coming!" | Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime

Part 3 - "Wake Up! The Bandits Are Coming!"At the end of March this year, officers from the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) responded to a request for assistance when an armour...

14 Mai 202544min

Living Together: The Gangs of Haiti - Part 2: Fighting Back | Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime

Living Together: The Gangs of Haiti - Part 2: Fighting Back | Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime

Part 2 - 'Fighting Back'In 2022, a video emerged of an alleged senior gang member, Zo Pwason, who had been caught by an armed group of Haitian citizens, led by Commissioner Jean-Ernest Muscadin. Zo Pw...

30 Apr 202556min

Living Together: The Gangs of Haiti - Part 1: The Death of a President | Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime

Living Together: The Gangs of Haiti - Part 1: The Death of a President | Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime

Part 1 - "The Death of a President"In July 2021, the President of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated as he slept at home by a band of mercenaries. His murder sparked a wave of violent protests and...

22 Apr 20251h 6min

Drugs, Dead Drops and the Battle Over Russian Darknet Markets | Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime

Drugs, Dead Drops and the Battle Over Russian Darknet Markets | Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime

If you were to walk around a Russian city, you might not realise it but hundreds of small packages of drugs, could be just below the surface, buried in the ground, or maybe attached to the back of a n...

14 Jan 20251h 15min

Colombia & Total Peace: Part 2: Buenaventura – “The Pact for Life” | Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime

Colombia & Total Peace: Part 2: Buenaventura – “The Pact for Life” | Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime

Buenaventura – “The Pact for Life”Buenaventura has long been an important node in international illicit markets, particularly cocaine trafficking due to its port. Gangs, paramilitaries and organized c...

27 Nov 202445min

Colombia & Total Peace: Part 1 - "The ELN - The Easy Win" | Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime

Colombia & Total Peace: Part 1 - "The ELN - The Easy Win" | Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime

Colombia is a country that has been racked by conflict for around 60 years - multiple armed groups and organized crime have waged war against each other and the state.In 2016, after nearly seven years...

28 Okt 202459min

Mohamed Amra and the gangs of Marseille | Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime

Mohamed Amra and the gangs of Marseille | Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime

In May 2024, a prison van was attacked at a highway toll in Normandy, France. In dramatic footage shared on social media, a black SUV, driving the wrong direction, rammed into the prison van just as i...

24 Jul 202436min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
i-retten
stopp-verden
forklart
popradet
det-store-bildet
nokon-ma-ga
dine-penger-pengeradet
fotballpodden-2
rss-gukild-johaug
aftenbla-bla
hanna-de-heldige
rss-ness
bt-dokumentar-2
frokostshowet-pa-p5
e24-podden
rss-dannet-uten-piano
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk