UAE says companies sanctioned by US over Sudan war not operating in the Emirates
The UAE on Friday said seven companies facing US sanctions for alleged links to the civil war in Sudan do not hold active business licences in the Emirates and are not operating in the country.
The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said in January it would take action against the entities due to their association with Gen Mohamed Dagalo, the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The US accuses the RSF of engaging in a 'brutal armed conflict with the Sudanese Armed Forces for control of Sudan, killing tens of thousands, displacing 12 million Sudanese, and triggering widespread starvation'.
The companies have been identified as Capital Tap Holding, Capital Tap Management Consultancies, Capital Tap General Trading, Creative Python, Al Zumoroud and Al Yaqoot Gold & Jewellers, Al Jil Al Qadem General Trading and Horizon Advanced Solutions General Trading.
They are accused by the US of having ties with Gen Dagalo and the RSF, in some cases providing money and military equipment to support its war effort.
The UAE said it had carried out its own investigation into the companies after the US said they were to be sanctioned.
'Upon notice of the sanctions designations, the UAE initiated its own investigation into the entities and related individuals, seeking additional information from US authorities to support these investigations,' state news agency Wam reported.
'The Ministry of Justice has confirmed that none of the seven entities hold an active business licence in the UAE, nor are they currently operating in the UAE. Relevant UAE authorities continue to monitor any potential suspicious activity in accordance with applicable UAE laws.'
Sudan has been at war since April 2023, with a power struggle between the Sudanese Army and RSF causing millions to flee the fighting. The UN said in 2024 that both sides may have committed war crimes.
About 150,000 people are estimated to have been killed during the war, with 12 million Sudanese displaced.
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