Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
based, Russian owned, diamond and gold trading company, affiliated with the Russian private military companyWagner Group.
In February 2023, Diamville became the subject of a set of economic sanctions imposed by the
European Council
The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the E ...
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. 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. 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. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Wagner Group, dismissed the report as "Western propaganda" and sarcastically claimed that
Emmanuel Macron
Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...
was the owner of Diamville. ''
De Standaard
''De Standaard'' (meaning ''The Standard'' in English) is a Flemish daily newspaper published in Belgium by Mediahuis (formerly Corelio and VUM). It was traditionally a Christian-Democratic paper, associated with the Christian-Democratic and F ...
'' newspaper also reported that "five sources from the diamond sector in
Bangui
Bangui () (or Bangî in Sango, formerly written Bangi in English) is the capital and largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a French outpost in 1889 and named after its location on the northern bank of the Ubangi ...
" confirmed Diamville is a Wagner Group
front organization
A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy gro ...
.
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. 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.
In late February 2023, the
European Council
The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the E ...
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." Other affiliated companies included Lobaye Invest Sarlu in Central African Republic and Meroe Gold and M-Invest in Sudan. 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.
Mining industry of the Central African Republic
The Central African Republic's mineral resource endowment includes copper, diamond, gold, graphite, ilmenite, iron ore, kaolin, kyanite, lignite, limestone, manganese, monazite, quartz, rutile, salt, tin, and uranium. Of these commodities, only dia ...
List of people and organizations sanctioned during the Russo-Ukrainian War
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February 2014, numerous countries have placed international sanctions on Russia and Crimea as the Russo-Ukrainian War continued. Leading economic and political powers, such as the United States an ...