Despite M-Invest listing its core activities as “extraction of ores and sands of precious metals”, a CNN investigation found that the firm had led a disinformation campaign against the 2019 revolution that ousted 30-year islamist ruler al-Bashir. 

In 2020, the US said M-Invest was owned by Prigozhin and served as a cover for the Wagner Group, which is currently staging an “online anti-revolution campaign” against a second wave of protests that have destabilised Sudan after the military interjected in October to remove a civilian-led administration.

During Sudan’s brief experiment with democracy, where the government tried to mend relations with the West after years of crippling sanctions, Russia largely shunned the country’s civilian leaders, working instead with Hemedti who retained power in an uneasy transitional coalition between the military and the executive.

The engagement of a mining company in cyber-warfare also mirrors Putin’s broader strategy in Africa, where Russian-affiliated entities blur the lines between private security operations and resource extraction.

Tack says that while Sudan is possibly the most important source of African gold for Russia, it is not the only country on the Kremlin’s radar.

“Minimising the effect of sanctions through gold is something that has informed Russia’s approach in Africa, because we are seeing very similar things in Mali, Burkina Faso and the Central African Republic. They are going after countries that have plenty of natural resources to help them up their reserves,” he said.

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