STPT: ‘Sudan’s warring parties bypass sanctions through business networks’

A new report by the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker urges international governments to target the commercial networks and overseas partners sustaining the war.

Sudan’s warring parties continue to circumvent international sanctions through overseas business networks, associated companies and alternative arms suppliers, according to a new report by the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker (STPT).

The report, Bypassing Sanctions, Sustaining the War Economy, published in October 2026, examines sanctions imposed since the war began in April 2023. It finds that restrictions have disrupted some financial and procurement channels but have failed to dismantle the wider networks financing the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The assessment identifies gaps in sanctions targeting SAF-linked companies, including the military-owned Zadna International Company for Investment, which it says has shifted much of its business towards Egypt and Gulf states and positioned itself to benefit from post-war reconstruction.

The report also traces how the RSF-linked Al Junaid conglomerate generates revenue through gold trading networks, including routes that move gold from Sudan through South Sudan to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Meanwhile, the report documents efforts by the SAF to secure alternative weapons suppliers, including Pakistan, and to develop domestic arms production using imported materials that can be harder to track.

However, the authors caution that evidence of alternative procurement routes does not, by itself, prove that sanctions caused these shifts.

The STPT argues that targeting individual companies is insufficient when their subsidiaries, joint ventures and commercial partners remain outside sanctions regimes. It urges governments to coordinate designations, strengthen enforcement and engage regional partners, particularly Egypt and Gulf states, to disrupt the networks sustaining the war.

The report concludes that sanctions alone cannot end the conflict and must form part of a broader political strategy, alongside stronger regional cooperation and measures to limit harm to civilians.

Read the full Bypassing Sanctions, Sustaining the War Economy report here or below: