US to declare Russia’s Wagner Group a transnational criminal organisation

WASHINGTON: The US government wants to declare the Russian private army the Wagner Group a transnational criminal organisation, National Security Council communications director John Kirby (pix) announced here on Friday. The classification allows the US and other countries to restrict the international business of the mercenary group and its worldwide network of supporters, reported German Press Agency (dpa). The US government will impose concrete sanctions against the Wagner Group next week, Kirby said. He did not give details of the sanctions. Wagner is a criminal organisation responsible for atrocities and human rights abuses in Ukraine and around the world, Kirby said, adding that there was a growing rivalry emerging between the Wagner Group and the Russian military and other Russian ministries. For example, Washington is seeing growing tensions between Wagner and the Russian Defence Ministry, he said.North Korea has also supplied weapons to Wagner in recent weeks, Kirby said. On