New documentary film features The Sentry’s findings, explores corrupt links between South Sudan’s civil war and officials and businesses in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia
Washington, DC – A new investigative Africa Uncensored documentary, “The Profiteers,” featuring in part The Sentry’s investigative findings, explores linkages between South Sudan’s civil war and the operations of businesspeople, financial institutions, and government and military officials in Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia.
In its latest Alert, The Sentry details how, collectively, these findings show that the corrupt elites responsible for South Sudan’s war rely on support and facilitation from the country’s neighbors and the broader international financial system.
Brian Adeba, Deputy Director of Policy at the Enough Project, said: “The egregious corruption fueling the war in South Sudan is enabled by the actions of regional collaborators. More than ever, governments in the region must play their part in stemming this corruption to help stop the bloodshed in South Sudan.”
J.R. Mailey, Director of Investigations at The Sentry, said: “Banks, businessmen, and governments throughout East Africa are intimately linked to South Sudan’s corruption-fueled civil war. These actors have immense leverage but, to date, have used this leverage to preserve a problematic status quo rather than to promote peace, good governance, and human rights.”
The Sentry’s findings highlighted in the documentary include:
- President Kiir’s Lakehouse in Ethiopia. The Sentry has identified and photographed a lake house in a resort town in Ethiopia reportedly belonging to President Salva Kiir.
- Stephen Dhieu Dau’s Home in Uganda. The Sentry has identified a home purchased by former Minister of Petroleum Stephen Dhieu Dau in Kampala in 2015.
- Facilitators of Weapons Deals. Documents obtained by The Sentry show the role of LOID Investments—owned by businessmen who operate in South Sudan and Uganda—in facilitating a legal but controversial arms shipment to the government of South Sudan in 2015.
- Use of Ugandan and Kenyan Banks. The Sentry has documented and reported numerous questionable transactions involving top officials from South Sudan and banks in Uganda and Kenya.
The Alert recommends key steps that can be taken by governments and financial institutions in the region to ensure their role is one that promotes peace rather than ongoing violence, corruption, and human suffering in South Sudan.
Joshua White, Director of Policy and Analysis at The Sentry, said: “As demonstrated by the U.S. Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Sigal Mandelker’s visit to Kenya and Uganda in June, there is increasing concern by U.S. regulators and financial institutions about the exploitation of these countries’ financial systems by South Sudanese elites, who use Kenya and Uganda as a gateway to access the international financial system. We call on the governments of Kenya and Uganda, as well as those countries’ banks, to take greater action to stop the laundering of illicitly-obtained wealth from South Sudan.”
The Sentry recommends:
- Kenya and Uganda should strengthen regulatory bodies to track money and enforce sanctions.
- Banks should apply heightened scrutiny to South Sudan transactions.
- Law enforcement should investigate South Sudanese property without political interference.
- Trade associations should improve standards for investments.
- Businesspeople should share investment information.
Click here to read The Sentry’s Alert.
Click here to watch Africa Uncensored’s three-part documentary on YouTube.
For media inquiries or interview requests, please contact: Greg Hittelman, Director of Communications, +1 310 717 0606, [email protected].
About THE SENTRY
The Sentry is composed of financial forensic investigators, policy analysts, and regional experts who follow the dirty money and build investigative cases focusing on the corrupt transnational networks most responsible for Africa’s deadliest conflicts. By creating a significant financial cost to these kleptocrats through network sanctions, anti-money laundering measures, prosecutions, and other tools, The Sentry aims to disrupt the profit incentives for mass atrocities and oppression, and creates new leverage in support of peace efforts and African frontline human rights defenders. The Sentry’s partner, the Enough Project, undertakes high-level advocacy with policy-makers around the world as well as wide-reaching education campaigns by mobilizing students, faith-based groups, celebrities, and others. Co-founded by George Clooney and John Prendergast, The Sentry is an initiative of Not On Our Watch (NOOW) and the Enough Project. The Sentry currently focuses its work in South Sudan, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, and the Central African Republic.
In less than two years, The Sentry has created hard-hitting reports and converted extensive research into a large volume of dossiers on individuals and entities connected to grand corruption, violence, or serious human rights abuses. The investigative team has turned those dossiers over to government regulatory and law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and around the world, as well as to compliance officers at the world’s largest banks.
Learn more at www.TheSentry.org.