"US Sanctions 2 South Sudan Businessmen, 6 Companies For Corruption - Treasury Dept."

The United States imposed economic sanctions on South Sudanese business tycoons Ashraf Seed Ahmed Al-Cardinal and Kur Ajing Ater and companies they control for bribery, kickbacks and procurement fraud, the Treasury Department announced in a press release…"Al-Cardinal and Ajing leverage their businesses and political connections to engage in corruption at great expense to the South Sudanese people," Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism Sigal Mandelker said in the release. Treasury also sanctioned five companies owned or controlled by Al-Cardinal, and one company owned or controlled by Ajing, the release said.

 The release cited the Global Magnitsky Act, which authorizes sanctions against human rights abusers, as well as a presidential executive order extending the law to corruption as a source of abuses. The US accused Al-Cardinal of acting as an intermediary for  South Sudan's goverment to move foreign currency into offshore accounts. Ajing was accused of paying bribes to government officials for access to oil,according to the release.