The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on James Kabarebe, Rwanda’s Minister of State for Regional Integration and Lawrence Kanyuka Kingston, a senior member of the M23 and Congo River Alliance.
In late January, the M23 group and the Rwandan Defense Force (RDF), in a battle, captured Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), killing thousands of civilians. The M23/RDF alliance continued its advance, seizing Kavumu Airport, an important transportation hub in east DRC, and occupying Bukavu, capital of South Kivu Province.
Lawrence Kanyuka owns two companies, Kingston Fresh (UK-registered) and Kingston Holding (French-registered). These companies have also been sanctioned by OFAC.
“Today’s action underscores our intent to hold accountable key officials and leaders like Kabarebe and Kanyuka, who are enabling the RDF and M23’s destabilizing activities in the eastern DRC,” said Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Bradley T. Smith.
