Sudan: 'Sudan's Warring Parties Bypass Sanctions Through Business Networks' - STPT

What the report says

A new report from the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker says Sudan’s warring sides are still able to work around sanctions by relying on overseas business links, related companies and alternative arms suppliers. The report, published in October 2026 and cited by Dabanga, focuses on how these networks help sustain the conflict that began in April 2023.

According to the assessment, sanctions have interrupted some financial and procurement routes but have not broken the wider commercial structures supporting the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. It points to SAF-linked firms, including the military-owned Zadna International Company for Investment, and says some of their activity has shifted toward Egypt and Gulf states, with an eye on possible post-war reconstruction opportunities.

The report also says RSF-linked business interests, including the Al Junaid conglomerate, continue to generate income through gold-trading routes that move material through South Sudan to the United Arab Emirates. On the SAF side, it describes efforts to find replacement weapons suppliers and to expand domestic arms production using harder-to-track imported inputs.

STPT argues that sanctions aimed only at individual companies are too narrow if subsidiaries, joint ventures and commercial partners are left untouched. It calls for better coordination, stronger enforcement and closer cooperation with regional governments, especially Egypt and Gulf states. The report says sanctions should be part of a broader political response and measures to reduce harm to civilians.