The United States has imposed sanctions on eight individuals and entities, including an Indian businessman and his Raipur-based explosives manufacturing company, accusing them of helping fuel Sudan’s civil war by supplying materials used by the Sudanese military.
Announcing the sanctions on Friday, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the targeted networks enabled both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to escalate the conflict, which has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, according to a PTI report.
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Indian national listed by US treasury department
Among those sanctioned is Alok Choudhari of Raipur, the Chief Executive Officer of SBL Energy Limited, also known as Amin Explosive Private Limited.
US authorities alleged that the company supplied more than 200 shipments of explosives and explosive-related materials to a firm responsible for maintaining the SAF’s arsenal.
The Treasury Department also sanctioned SBL Energy Limited, along with other companies based in Sudan and Egypt.
“These networks supply weapons, explosives, and foreign fighters to both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. Their support has prolonged a conflict that has created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis and provided space for terrorist groups to operate,” Tommy Pigott, spokesperson of the US Department of State, said in a statement.
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Raipur-based company supplied explosives: US treasury
According to the US Treasury Department, Raipur-based SBL Energy supplied explosives and related materials to Sudan-based Target Multiactivities Company (TMAC). The explosives were later used in bombs deployed by the SAF, it alleged.
TMAC and its general manager, senior DIS officer Tariq Hussain Muhammad Madani, were also sanctioned.
The Treasury Department said the Defense Industries System (DIS), Sudan’s largest defence enterprise, supports and maintains the SAF’s arsenal of arms, ammunition, vehicles and other military equipment, much of it sourced from Iran and other foreign backers.
DIS oversees several subsidiaries, including the Sudanese conglomerate Giad Industrial Group (Giad), also known as Sudan Master Technology, through a network of complex corporate structures that has generated billions of dollars.
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Attacks on civilians, obstruction to ceasefire
According to the Treasury Department, DIS’s procurement of military equipment and related material has enabled the SAF to sustain combat operations against the RSF, carry out attacks on civilians, and obstruct efforts to secure a ceasefire. Both DIS and Giad were sanctioned by the US in 2023.
OFAC also designated Ports Engineering Company Ltd, a state-owned civil engineering and construction firm established in 1998 and based in Port Sudan.
The company, which US authorities linked to Sudan Master Technology, allegedly imported military uniforms and footwear for Sudanese intelligence from a company in the United Arab Emirates, as well as ammunition belts and weapons cases from a Turkish firm after the conflict erupted in April 2023.
The sanctions also targeted individuals linked to a transnational network accused of recruiting former Colombian military personnel to fight alongside the RSF.
The network is led by retired Colombian military officer Alvaro Andres Quijano Becerra and his wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, who had previously been sanctioned by Washington.
US authorities also blacklisted three individuals associated with Panama-based Talent Bridge SA, a company allegedly used to conceal the recruitment operation.
The sanctioned individuals include Panamanian nationals Enrique Daniel Palacios Quintanilla and Jack Peter Derman Guzman, as well as Colombian national Fredy Alejandro Lopez Ocampo, all of whom held executive or managerial positions at the company.
