The United States has sanctioned eight individuals and entities linked to procurement and recruitment networks supporting both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), accusing them of sustaining a conflict that has triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
According to the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the sanctions target companies and executives supplying military equipment, explosives, uniforms, and other materiel to the SAF, while also disrupting networks that have enabled both sides to intensify fighting.
They include the Defence Industries System (DIS), Sudan’s largest defence enterprise, which supports Target Multiactivities Company Ltd (TMAC), and the Ports Engineering Company LTD (Ports Engineering).
According to OFAC, DIS maintains the SAF’s arsenal of arms, ammunition, vehicles, and materiel, often acquired from Iran and other external backers.
It also controls numerous subsidiaries, including the Sudanese conglomerate Giad Industrial Group (Giad), also known as Sudan Master Technology, through opaque structures from which DIS has generated billions of dollars.
On June 1, 2023, OFAC designated DIS and Giad, citing DIS’s acquisition of military equipment and related materiel as enabling the SAF to sustain combat operations against the RSF, conduct attacks against civilians, and obstruct efforts to achieve a ceasefire.
According to OFAC, TMAC is a Sudan-based company controlled by DIS through Giad, with senior DIS officer Tariq Hussain Muhammad Madani (Madani) serving as managing director.
Madani has been designated as a foreign person who is or has been a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of TMAC, or a person whose property and interests in property are blocked.
“TMAC has imported explosives and related material into Sudan from Egyptian and Indian companies, including an Indian-based explosives manufacturer, SBL Energy Limited (SBL). These explosives are subsequently used in bombs deployed by the SAF. SBL, whose chief executive officer is Indian national Alok Choudhari (Choudhari), has supplied TMAC with over 200 shipments of explosives and explosives-related materiel since 2024,” OFAC noted.
OFAC designated TMAC for being a foreign person owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, DIS, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked.
It also designated SBL for materially assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for TMAC, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked.
Choudhari was designated as a foreign person who is or has been a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of SBL, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked.
Additionally, Ports Engineering, a Sudan-based public construction company owned by Sudanese state enterprises including Giad, is accused of importing uniforms and footwear worn by Sudanese intelligence personnel from an Emirati company, and ammunition belts and boxes of weapons from a Turkish company since the conflict began in April 2023.
“These networks have enabled both sides to expand the scale and intensity of the conflict, contributing to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises and further destabilising an already fragile region. The ongoing violence has also created conditions that allow for terrorist groups to grow, posing threats to the security and interests of the United States,” the statement adds.
OFAC designated Ports Engineering for being a foreign person owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Sudan Master Technology, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said these networks profiting from the conflict in Sudan jeopardise prospects for the humanitarian truce the Sudanese people desperately need.
“The Trump Administration is committed to advancing a lasting peace in Sudan and bringing an end to the conflict,” he added.
The US also renewed its call for an immediate, unconditional three-month humanitarian truce and urged external actors to halt financial and military support to the warring parties.
“Such a truce would allow additional humanitarian assistance to reach those in need, safeguard civilian populations, and create space for further negotiations toward a permanent ceasefire. The United States again calls on external actors to cease all financial and military support to the parties involved in the conflict,” OFAC said.
The investigation of the designated individuals and entities was conducted in close partnership with the United States Customs and Border Protection, National Targeting Centre.
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