Treasury Sanctions Rwandan Gold Refinery and Network Enabling Illicit Conflict Minerals Trade

WASHINGTON—Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on a network working in coordination with the Rwandan-backed March 23 Movement (M23) to illegally smuggle minerals from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to Rwanda. This action supports the historic U.S.-brokered Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity, signed on December 4, 2025, by the leaders of the DRC and Rwanda. It reinforces their commitment to implement a Regional Economic Integration Framework designed to expand trade and investment, strengthen transparency across critical minerals supply chains, and lay the foundation for greater long-term economic opportunity throughout the region.“The United States will not allow rogue groups to profit from the illicit mineral trade and destabilize the region,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.