Diamville

Diamville SAU[1] is a Central African Republic based, Russian owned, diamond and gold trading company, affiliated with the Russian private military company Wagner Group.

Diamville
IndustryDiamond and gold
Founded2019
FounderBienvenu Patrick Setem Bonguende
Headquarters
Central African Republic

In February 2023, Diamville became the subject of a set of economic sanctions imposed by the European Council against various people and organizations affiliated with the Wagner Group. The company had sanctions imposed by the United States in July 2023.

Ownership

Diamville is a Central African Republic based, Russian owned, diamond and gold trading company.[2][1] The official registered owner of the company is Central African Bienvenu Patrick Setem Bonguende, who works as a driver for Dimitri Sytyi, a senior executive at the Russian private military company Wagner Group.[3] According to a 2022 joint investigation and report from European Investigative Collaborations (EIC), the French organization All Eyes on Wagner, and the UK-based Dossier Center, Diamville is a shell company owned by Russian militia Wagner Group.[4] Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Wagner Group, dismissed the report as "Western propaganda" and sarcastically[5] claimed that Emmanuel Macron was the owner of Diamville.[6] De Standaard newspaper also reported that "five sources from the diamond sector in Bangui" confirmed Diamville is a Wagner Group front organization.[7][8]

History and activities

De Standard reported that Diamville was founded in 2019 and exported €132,000 of diamonds from Central African Republic to Belgium in November 2019.[7][9] The EIC report claimed that in total 1,000 carats of diamonds worth US$12 million were exported from Central African Republic between 2019 and 2021.[3]

In late February 2023, the European Council imposed sanctions against "individuals and entities linked to the Wagner Group" including Diamville for "their role in illegally trading gold and diamonds looted by force from local traders."[10][11][12] Other affiliated companies included Lobaye Invest Sarlu in Central African Republic and Meroe Gold and M-Invest in Sudan.[11] The United States imposed sanctions against Diamville on June 27 2023, in the aftermath of the Wagner Group rebellion. Sanctions against the Wagner Group affiliated Midas Ressources were imposed at the same time.[13]

See also

References
  1. LJUBA, ZDRAVKO (29 June 2023). "US Announces New Sanctions against Prigozhin's Allies". Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  2. "RCA : Les diamants au détriment des Centrafricains". Corbeau News (in French). 2020-12-09. Archived from the original on 2022-12-15. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  3. Milani, di Valentina (2022-12-12). "Centrafrica: Wagner esporta illegalmente diamanti di sangue | Rivista Africa" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2022-12-15. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  4. "Una investigación internacional revela que el Grupo Wagner saquea y exporta diamantes centroafricanos a Europa." La Nación, 2 Dec. 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A728858039/ITOF?u=wikipedia&sid=ebsco&xid=fc37a001. Accessed 14 Dec. 2022.
  5. "The Kremlin's False Portrayal of Wagner Mercenaries in Ukraine". POLYGRAPH.info. Archived from the original on 2022-12-15. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  6. Ilyushina, Mary; Ebel, Francesca (6 Dec 2022). "Russian mercenaries accused of using violence to corner diamond trade". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  7. Moller-Nielsen, Thomas (2 Dec 2022). "Russian mercenary group Wagner allegedly exporting diamonds to Belgium". www.brusselstimes.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-14. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  8. Goethals, Kasper. "Hoe Russische huurlingen de Afrikaanse diamanthandel overnemen". De Standaard (in Flemish). Archived from the original on 2022-12-14. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  9. Goethals, Kasper; Vanhecke, Nikolas (1 Dec 2022). "Omstreden Wagner-groep kon diamanten verhandelen in België: "Grote vragen bij onze controles"". www.nieuwsblad.be (in Flemish). Archived from the original on 2022-12-15. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  10. "Єврорада ввела санкції проти 18 осіб, пов'язаних із ПВК «Вагнер»". Зеркало недели | Дзеркало тижня | Mirror Weekly. Archived from the original on 2023-02-26. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  11. "Wagner Group: Council adds 11 individuals and 7 entities to EU sanctions lists". www.consilium.europa.eu. 25 Feb 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-02-25. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  12. ПловдивПрес (2023-02-26). "Нов пакет санкции на ЕС: Още мерки срещу убийците от "Вагнер" - Новини от Пловдив". Новини от Пловдив - Пловдив Прес (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 2023-02-26. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  13. Bazail-Eimil, Eric (2023-06-27). "U.S. targets Wagner Group associates in Africa with sanctions". POLITICO. Archived from the original on 2023-06-28. Retrieved 2023-06-29.

Further reading
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