The United Kingdom has announced fresh sanctions targeting illicit gold and financial networks accused of funding rival factions in Sudan’s devastating civil war.
According to AFP, published by Channels Television, the sanctions target 11 Sudanese individuals and businesses allegedly linked to the financial networks supporting both the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said Sudan’s multi-billion-dollar gold trade has helped finance weapons procurement, military operations and the activities of armed groups, prolonging the conflict that began in April 2023.
Among those sanctioned is Sudanese national Abu Dharr, who British authorities allege financed the RSF through a network of real estate holdings, conflict gold and companies based in Dubai. The sanctions also cover three Sudanese companies operating in the United Arab Emirates, one Sudanese firm based in Hong Kong, and two Sudanese state-owned mining companies accused of generating gold revenues for the SAF.
The Ariab Mining Company was also sanctioned over allegations that it channelled revenue from conflict gold to both the SAF and the RSF.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Sudanese people continue to suffer because the war is sustained not only by military force but also by illicit gold and financial flows that fund both sides.
Sudan, Africa’s third-largest country, is one of the continent’s leading gold producers. The Sudanese Mineral Resources Company reported a five-year production high of 70 tonnes in 2025.
The latest UK measures come after the United Nations warned that both warring factions are profiting from the country’s natural resources, creating a “war economy” that continues to fuel the conflict. The war has reportedly killed as many as 200,000 people and displaced more than 11 million since fighting erupted in April 2023.
The UK has previously imposed sanctions on senior RSF commanders. The European Union has taken similar action, while the European Council this week announced a ban on the purchase, import or transfer of gold originating from Sudan in an effort to cut off funding for the conflict.
