Overview
- The UK imposed targeted sanctions on 11 people and companies on Thursday, naming Sudanese facilitators, UAE- and Hong Kong-linked firms, and three state-owned mining companies accused of converting illicitly mined gold into funds and materiel for the RSF and SAF.
- At the centre of the package is Abu Dharr Abdul Nabi Habiballa Ahmmed, who the UK says used a Dubai-based web of real estate and holding companies to fund and procure supplies for the RSF.
- The Foreign Office warned that El Obeid faces a high risk of mass atrocity as RSF forces build up around the city and formally called for the UN arms embargo to be extended to cover operations there.
- London said illicit gold will be a priority at its Illicit Finance Summit in December 2026 to build international measures against cross-border money flows that monetise Sudanese gold through markets such as Dubai and Hong Kong.
- The UK described Sudan's gold sector as the engine of the war economy, noting official exports of $1.5 billion in 2024–25 but saying far larger sums are likely smuggled out each year and used to buy weapons and sustain fighting, worsening civilian harm and displacement.