In June 2023, the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned four companies and one individual connected to the Russian Wagner Group's (now Africa Corps) exploitation of gold resources to fund its global mercenary operations. A key target was Midas Ressources SARLU, a Central African Republic (CAR)-based mining company that controlled the Ndassima gold mine containing reserves valued at over one billion dollars, which Wagner forces protected from CAR government inspection while reportedly collaborating with local rebel groups in violation of CAR mining regulations and UN sanctions. The sanctions also targeted Diamville SAU, a gold and diamond purchasing company in CAR controlled by Wagner founder Yevgeniy Prigozhin, along with its partners Industrial Resources General Trading in Dubai and OOO DM in Russia, which together operated a sophisticated scheme to convert CAR-origin gold into US dollars and physically transport cash to Russia following sanctions on Russian financial institutions. This case highlights how illegal mining operations can serve as financing vehicles for transnational criminal organisations and armed groups, with gold being particularly valuable due to its portability, value retention, and the difficulty in tracing its origins – challenges that prompted multiple US government agencies to simultaneously issue an advisory on the gold sector across sub-Saharan Africa, warning of risks related to conflict financing, Money Laundering, Sanctions Evasion, Human Rights Violations, and environmental degradation associated with such illicit operations.