Guns for gold:the Wagner Network exposed
15
Table 3: High-confidence countries where the Wagner Network has carried out non-military activities (between 2014 and June 2023)
| Year of involvement | Country | Nature of involvement | Further information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Zimbabwe | Unknown | We have high confidence that the Prigozhin-linked entity, AFRIC, has
provided political services, including illegitimate election observation missions.[1] Meta took down inauthentic accounts in 2022 linked to Prigozhin’s Internet Research Agency.[2] |
| 2018 | Democratic Republic of Congo | Unknown | The Democratic Republic of the Congo, where we have high confidence that Prigozhin-linked AFRIC has sponsored illegitimate election monitoring missions.[3] |
| 2018 | Madagascar | Temporary | Madagascar, where we have high confidence of Wagner Network attempts at interference in the 2018 Presidential Election—including through AFRIC—and medium confidence of Prigozhin-linked mining interests.[4] |
| 2018 | South Africa | Temporary | South Africa, where we have high confidence that AFRIC attempted to interfere in elections[5] and that other Prigozhin-linked entities, the Foundation for National Values Protection (FZNC) and the International Anticrisis Center, have been involved.[6] Both entities are part of Prigozhin’s malign influence operations globally |
- ↑ AFRIC is under sanction by the US Government. When the sanction was announced, the US Treasury stated: “The Association For Free Research And International Cooperation (AFRIC), [...] facilitate[s] Prigozhin’s malign operations in Africa and Europe while primarily operating from Russia. AFRIC has served as a front company for Prigozhin’s influence operations in Africa, including by sponsoring phony election monitoring missions in Zimbabwe, Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa, and Mozambique. Despite posing as an African-led initiative, AFRIC serves to disseminate Russia’s preferred messaging, often related to disinformation. AFRIC works in coordination with other elements of the Prigozhin network, including FZNC and the International Anticrisis Center, a fraudulent think tank controlled by Prigozhin’s operatives.” US Department of the Treasury, ‘Treasury Escalates Sanctions Against the Russian Government’s Attempts to Influence US Elections’, 15 April 2021 (accessed 16 July 2023)
- ↑ Meta, ‘January 2022 Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior Report’, 16 February 2022 (accessed 17 July 2023)
- ↑ US Department of the Treasury, ‘Treasury Escalates Sanctions Against the Russian Government’s Attempts to Influence US Elections’, 15 April 2021 (accessed 16 July 2023); EPDE, ‘Fake election observation as Russia’s tool of election interference: The Case of AFRIC’, 26 March 2020 (accessed 16 July 2023
- ↑ US Department of the Treasury, ‘Treasury Escalates Sanctions Against the Russian Government’s Attempts to Influence US Elections’, 15 April 2021 (accessed 16 July 2023); see also YouTube, ‘Russia’s Madagascar Election Gamble - BBC Africa Eye documentary’ (accessed 16 July 2023)
- ↑ US Department of the Treasury, ‘Treasury Escalates Sanctions Against the Russian Government’s Attempts to Influence US Elections’, 15 April 2021 (accessed 16 July 2023); EPDE, ‘Fake election observation as Russia’s tool of election interference: The Case of AFRIC’, 26 March 2020 (accessed 16 July 2023)
- ↑ Daily Maverick, ‘Exclusive: Did Putin’s ‘Chef’ attempt to interfere in South African election?’, 7 May 2019 (accessed 16 July 2023)
