II 

Calendar No. 147 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 416 

To designate the Russian-based mercenary Wagner Group as a foreign 

terrorist organization, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2023 

Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. RUBIO, Mrs. 

BLACKBURN, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mr. KELLY, Mr. 

GRASSLEY, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. YOUNG, and Mr. PADILLA) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

JULY 25, 2023 

Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To designate the Russian-based mercenary Wagner Group 

as a foreign terrorist organization, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Holding Accountable 

5 Russian Mercenaries Act’’ or the ‘‘HARM Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) The Secretary of State’s designation of an 

4 entity as a foreign terrorist organization results 

5 from a determination that— 

6 (A) the entity is foreign and engages in 

7 terrorism or terrorist activity; and 

8 (B) the terrorist activity threatens the se9 curity of the United States or its nationals. 

10 (2) The activities of the Wagner Group and af11 filiated entities of Russian national Yevgeniy 

12 Prigozhin pose a threat to the national interests and 

13 national security of the United States and allies and 

14 partners of the United States, including with respect 

15 to Russia’s war on Ukraine, which President Biden 

16 declared, on March 2, 2022, ‘‘pose[s] an unusual 

17 and extraordinary threat to the national security 

18 and foreign policy of the United States’’. 

19 (3) On June 20, 2017, the Department of the 

20 Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control des21 ignated the Wagner Group and its military leader, 

22 Dmitry Utkin, pursuant to Executive Order 13660 

23 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking property 

24 of certain persons contributing to the situation in 

25 Ukraine) ‘‘for being responsible for or complicit in, 

26 or having engaged in, directly or indirectly, actions 


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1 or policies that threaten the peace, security, sta2 bility, sovereignty or territorial integrity of 

3 Ukraine’’. 

4 (4) On September 20, 2018, the Department of 

5 State added Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his affiliated 

6 entities, including the Wagner Group, to the list of 

7 persons identified as part of, or operating for or on 

8 behalf of, the defense or intelligence sectors of the 

9 Government of the Russian Federation under section 

10 231 of the Countering America’s Adversaries 

11 Through Sanctions Act (22 U.S.C. 9525). 

12 (5) On January 20, 2023, a White House 

13 spokesperson announced that the Department of the 

14 Treasury will designate the Wagner Group as a sig15 nificant transnational criminal organization pursu16 ant to Executive Order 13581 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; 

17 relating to blocking property of transnational crimi18 nal organizations), consistent with the authority 

19 granted to the President under section 203(a) of the 

20 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

21 U.S.C. 1702). 

22 (6) The Wagner Group, a self-described private 

23 actor that undertakes military action and subversive 

24 operations at the behest of the Government of the 

25 Russian Federation, is a ‘‘terrorist group’’ that enVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S416.RS S416

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1 gages in ‘‘terrorism’’ (as defined in section 140(d) of 

2 the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal 

3 Year 1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. 2656f(d))), which 

4 is ‘‘premeditated, politically motivated violence per5 petrated against noncombatant targets by sub6 national groups or clandestine agents’’. 

7 (7) The Wagner Group and its affiliated enti8 ties have committed, or are credibly accused of com9 mitting, terrorist activity (as defined in section 

10 212(a)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality 

11 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B))), through their in12 volvement in— 

13 (A) the massacres, rape, and torture of ci14 vilians in Bucha, Ukraine, in March 2022; 

15 (B) the massacres in Moura, Mali, in 

16 March 2022; 

17 (C) the massacres of migrant workers and 

18 civilians in mining regions along the Sudan19 Central African Republic border in 2022; 

20 (D) the murder of Russian journalists in 

21 the Central African Republic in June 2018 as 

22 well as threats against United States journalists 

23 investigating such incident; 

24 (E) the kidnapping of children in the Cen25 tral African Republic in 2022 to work in mines; 


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1 (F) the rape and sex trafficking of women 

2 and children in the Central African Republic 

3 between 2018 and 2022; 

4 (G) the sabotage and lethal suppression of 

5 civilian protestors in Sudan in 2019; 

6 (H) the use of nerve agents against 

7 Libya’s Government of National Accord and de8 ployment of illegal land mines and booby-traps 

9 in civilian areas of Tripoli between 2019 and 

10 2020; 

11 (I) the torture and execution of a Syrian 

12 national in June 2017; 

13 (J) efforts to assassinate Ukrainian Presi14 dent Volodymyr Zelensky in March 2022; and 

15 (K) the receipt of weapons shipments ini16 tially reported in December 2022 from the 

17 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which 

18 the Secretary of State had designated a state 

19 sponsor of terrorism on November 20, 2017. 

20 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

21 It is the sense of Congress that— 

22 (1) the Russian-based mercenary Wagner 

23 Group meets the criteria for designation by the Sec24 retary of State as a foreign terrorist organization 


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1 under section 219(a) of the Immigration and Na2 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189(a)); and 

3 (2) the Secretary of State should designate the 

4 Wagner Group as a foreign terrorist organization 

5 under such section 219(a). 

6 SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF THE MERCENARY WAGNER 

7 GROUP AS A FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANI8 ZATION. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the enactment of this Act, 

10 the Secretary of State shall designate the Wagner Group 

11 as a foreign terrorist organization in accordance with sec12 tion 219(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

13 U.S.C. 1189(a)). 

14 (b) APPLICATION.—The designation required under 

15 subsection (a) shall equally apply to any affiliated and suc16 cessor entities to the Wagner Group undertaking malign 

17 activities against the United States and its allies and part18 ners, including activities taking place in Ukraine, Africa, 

19 and the Middle East. 

20 (c) WAIVER.—The President may waive the applica21 tion of sanctions under this section if the President deter22 mines and reports to the appropriate congressional com23 mittees that such a waiver is in the national security inter24 est of the United States. 


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1 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually there3 after, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the 

4 appropriate congressional committees describing the inter5 national activities of the Russian-based mercenary Wagner 

6 Group. 

7 (e) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘ap8 propriate congressional committees’’ means— 

9 (1) the Committee on Armed Services of the 

10 Senate; 

11 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

12 Senate; 

13 (3) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

14 Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

15 (4) the Committee on Financial Services of the 

16 House of Representatives; 

17 (5) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

18 House of Representatives; 

19 (6) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

20 House of Representatives; and 

21 (7) the Committee on Armed Services of the 

22 House of Representatives. 

23 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES. 

24 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Holding Accountable 

25 Russian Mercenaries Act’’ or the ‘‘HARM Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) The Secretary of State’s designation of an 

4 entity as a foreign terrorist organization results from 

5 a determination that— 

6 (A) the entity is foreign and engages in ter7 rorism or terrorist activity; and 

8 (B) the terrorist activity threatens the secu9 rity of the United States or its nationals. 

10 (2) The activities of the Wagner Group and af11 filiated entities of Russian national Yevgeniy 

12 Prigozhin pose a threat to the national interests and 

13 national security of the United States and allies and 

14 partners of the United States, including with respect 

15 to Russia’s war on Ukraine, which President Biden 

16 declared, on March 2, 2022, ‘‘pose[s] an unusual and 

17 extraordinary threat to the national security and for18 eign policy of the United States’’. 

19 (3) On June 20, 2017, the Department of the 

20 Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated 

21 the Wagner Group and its military leader, Dmitry 

22 Utkin, pursuant to Executive Order 13660 (50 U.S.C. 

23 1701 note; relating to blocking property of certain 

24 persons contributing to the situation in Ukraine) ‘‘for 

25 being responsible for or complicit in, or having en26 gaged in, directly or indirectly, actions or policies 


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1 that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty 

2 or territorial integrity of Ukraine’’. 

3 (4) On September 20, 2018, the Department of 

4 State added Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his affiliated en5 tities, including the Wagner Group, to the list of per6 sons identified as part of, or operating for or on be7 half of, the defense or intelligence sectors of the Gov8 ernment of the Russian Federation under section 231 

9 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through 

10 Sanctions Act (22 U.S.C. 9525). 

11 (5) On January 20, 2023, a White House spokes12 person announced that the Department of the Treas13 ury will designate the Wagner Group as a significant 

14 transnational criminal organization pursuant to Ex15 ecutive Order 13581 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to 

16 blocking property of transnational criminal organiza17 tions), consistent with the authority granted to the 

18 President under section 203(a) of the International 

19 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702). 

20 (6) The Wagner Group, a self-described private 

21 actor that undertakes military action and subversive 

22 operations at the behest of the Government of the Rus23 sian Federation, is a ‘‘terrorist group’’ that engages 

24 in ‘‘terrorism’’ (as defined in section 140(d) of the 

25 Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 


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1 1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. 2656f(d))), which is ‘‘pre2 meditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated 

3 against noncombatant targets by subnational groups 

4 or clandestine agents’’. 

5 (7) The Wagner Group and its affiliated entities 

6 have committed, or are credibly accused of commit7 ting, terrorist activity (as defined in section 

8 212(a)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

9 (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B))), through their involvement 

10 in— 

11 (A) the massacres, rape, and torture of ci12 vilians in Bucha, Ukraine, in March 2022; 

13 (B) the massacres in Moura, Mali, in 

14 March 2022; 

15 (C) the massacres of migrant workers and 

16 civilians in mining regions along the Sudan17 Central African Republic border in 2022; 

18 (D) the murder of Russian journalists in 

19 the Central African Republic in June 2018 as 

20 well as threats against United States journalists 

21 investigating such incident; 

22 (E) the kidnapping of children in the Cen23 tral African Republic in 2022 to work in mines; 


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1 (F) the rape and sex trafficking of women 

2 and children in the Central African Republic be3 tween 2018 and 2022; 

4 (G) the sabotage and lethal suppression of 

5 civilian protestors in Sudan in 2019; 

6 (H) the use of nerve agents against Libya’s 

7 Government of National Accord and deployment 

8 of illegal land mines and booby-traps in civilian 

9 areas of Tripoli between 2019 and 2020; 

10 (I) the torture and execution of a Syrian 

11 national in June 2017; 

12 (J) efforts to assassinate Ukrainian Presi13 dent Volodymyr Zelensky in March 2022; and 

14 (K) the receipt of weapons shipments ini15 tially reported in December 2022 from the Demo16 cratic People’s Republic of Korea, which the Sec17 retary of State had designated a state sponsor of 

18 terrorism on November 20, 2017. 

19 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

20 It is the sense of Congress that— 

21 (1) the Russian-based mercenary Wagner Group 

22 meets the criteria for designation by the Secretary of 

23 State as a foreign terrorist organization under section 

24 219(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

25 U.S.C. 1189(a)); and 


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1 (2) the Secretary of State should designate the 

2 Wagner Group as a foreign terrorist organization 

3 under such section 219(a). 

4 SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF THE MERCENARY WAGNER GROUP 

5 AS A FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the enactment of this Act, the 

7 Secretary of State shall designate the Wagner Group as a 

8 foreign terrorist organization in accordance with section 

9 219(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

10 1189(a)). 

11 (b) APPLICATION.—The designation required under 

12 subsection (a) shall equally apply to any affiliated and suc13 cessor entities to the Wagner Group undertaking malign ac14 tivities against the United States and its allies and part15 ners, including activities taking place in Ukraine, Africa, 

16 and the Middle East. 

17 (c) WAIVER.—The President may waive the applica18 tion of sanctions under this section if the President deter19 mines and reports to the appropriate congressional commit20 tees that such a waiver is in the national security interest 

21 of the United States. 

22 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

23 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

24 the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the appro25 priate congressional committees describing the interVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S416.RS S416

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1 national activities of the Russian-based mercenary Wagner 

2 Group. 

3 (e) DEFINED TERM.—In this Act, the term ‘‘appro4 priate congressional committees’’ means— 

5 (1) the Committee on Armed Services of the Sen6 ate; 

7 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

8 Senate; 

9 (3) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

10 Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

11 (4) the Committee on Financial Services of the 

12 House of Representatives; 

13 (5) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

14 House of Representatives; 

15 (6) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House 

16 of Representatives; and 

17 (7) the Committee on Armed Services of the 

18 House of Representatives. 

19 (f) EXCEPTION FOR HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND

20 PEACEBUILDING ACTIVITIES.—When applying the terms 

21 ‘‘material support or resources’’ (as defined in section 

22 2339A(b)(1) of title 18, United States Code) and ‘‘material 

23 support’’ (as defined at section 212(a)(3)(B) of the Immi24 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182 (a)(3)(B)) with 

25 respect to activities and transactions involving the Wagner 


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1 Group, such terms shall exclude activities and support di2 rectly related to humanitarian assistance or peacebuilding 

3 activities, including— 

4 (1) activities and transactions described in an 

5 authorizing document issued by the Secretary of the 

6 Treasury (or designee) by means of a license, regula7 tion, exemption, or other document; 

8 (2) activities that— 

9 (A) support humanitarian projects to meet 

10 basic human needs and to support education; 

11 (B) support peacebuilding, conflict preven12 tion, or conflict resolution programs; 

13 (C) support disarmament, demobilization, 

14 or reintegration programs; 

15 (D) directly benefit the civilian population, 

16 including support for the removal of landmines 

17 and economic development projects directly bene18 fitting the civilian population; 

19 (E) support democracy building; 

20 (F) support non-commercial development 

21 projects directly benefitting civilians; and 

22 (G) support environmental and natural re23 source protection; 


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1 (3) any transaction by a nongovernmental orga2 nization that are ordinarily incident and necessary to 

3 the activities described in paragraph (2), including— 

4 (A) processing and transferring funds; 

5 (B) paying taxes, fees, or import duties; 

6 (C) the purchase or receipt of permits, 

7 visas, licenses, or public utility services if such 

8 nongovernmental organization is not a person or 

9 entity whose property or interests in property 

10 are blocked pursuant to another provision of 

11 statute or regulation; and 

12 (4) noncommercial transactions that are related 

13 to the direct or indirect provision of agricultural com14 modities, medicine, medical devices, replacement 

15 parts and components for medical devices, or software 

16 updates for medical devices to an individual whose 

17 property and interests in property are blocked pursu18 ant to another provision of statute or regulation, if 

19 such items are transferred in quantities consistent 

20 with personal, noncommercial use. 

21 SEC. 5. TASK FORCE ON COUNTERING RUSSIAN MALIGN AC22 TORS AND MERCENARY PROXIES. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

25 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 


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1 State shall establish a task force on countering the 

2 Russian mercenary groups and their proxies (referred 

3 to in this section as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 

4 (2) RUSSIAN MERCENARY GROUPS AND THEIR

5 PROXIES DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘Rus6 sian mercenary groups and their proxies’’ means— 

7 (A) mercenary proxy groups, such as Wag8 ner PMC (and any relevant successors that en9 gage in similar conduct), PMC Patriot, 

10 Andreyevsky Krest PMC, PMC Convoy, Akhmat 

11 PMC, Moran Security Group, and RSB Group; 

12 (B) any organization or network that is di13 rectly involved in planning and carrying out in14 fluence operations in the United States or in any 

15 country that is an ally or partner of the United 

16 States; and 

17 (C) any overt or covert financial, procure18 ment, or logistics network directly involved in 

19 supporting the actors or activities described in 

20 subparagraphs (A) or (B). 

21 (b) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of the Task Force 

22 shall be to— 

23 (1) identify individuals and entities linked to 

24 Russian mercenary groups and their proxies that are 


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1 responsible for, or complicit in, transnational crimi2 nal activities and atrocities in Africa; 

3 (2) degrade the operational capabilities of Rus4 sian mercenary groups and their proxies worldwide; 

5 (3) disrupt and degrade the financial, procure6 ment, and logistics networks that sustain Russian 

7 mercenary groups and their proxies and networks; 

8 (4) deny Russian mercenary groups and their 

9 proxies the use of third-country safe havens or bases 

10 of operations that can be used to project influence or 

11 support their operations globally; 

12 (5) coordinate diplomatic activities in countries 

13 in which the Wagner Group poses a national security 

14 threat; 

15 (6) engage with allies and partners of the United 

16 States to carry out the objectives described in para17 graphs (1) through (5); and 

18 (7) make recommendations for sanctions, includ19 ing regarding designations and any additional sanc20 tions authorities that may be needed. 

21 (c) COMPOSITION.— 

22 (1) LEADERSHIP.—The Task Force shall be led 

23 by the Deputy Secretary of State or another senior of24 ficial of the Department of State who has been desVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S416.RS S416

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1 ignated by the Secretary of State to lead the Task 

2 Force. 

3 (2) DEPARTMENT OF STATE REPRESENTA4 TIVES.—Members of the Task Force shall include rep5 resentatives of— 

6 (A) relevant regional or functional bureaus 

7 of the Department of State; 

8 (B) the Global Engagement Center; 

9 (C) the Office of Sanctions Coordination; 

10 (D) the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital 

11 Policy; and 

12 (E) other offices and bureaus of the Depart13 ment of State that the Secretary of State deter14 mines should be represented on the Task Force. 

15 (3) OTHER FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS AND AGEN16 CIES.—Members of the Task Force shall also include 

17 representatives of— 

18 (A) the Department of Defense; 

19 (B) the Department of the Treasury; 

20 (C) the intelligence community (as defined 

21 in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 

22 (50 U.S.C. 3003); 

23 (D) the Department of Justice; and 

24 (E) any other relevant Federal department 

25 or agency. 


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1 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after establish2 ment of the Task Force, and annually thereafter for the fol3 lowing 3 years, the Secretary of State shall submit to the 

4 appropriate congressional committees a report con5 taining— 

6 (1) a summary of the Task Force’s efforts to 

7 counter Russian mercenary groups and their proxies 

8 during the preceding year; 

9 (2) a description of the Task Force’s diplomatic 

10 efforts to carry out the objectives described in sub11 section (b), including— 

12 (A) diplomatic demarches; 

13 (B) bilateral engagements; 

14 (C) coordination of multilateral initiatives 

15 with allies and partners; and 

16 (D) any other relevant diplomatic activities; 

17 (3) a description of financial, cyber, military, or 

18 intelligence tools or authorities used to carry out the 

19 objectives described in subsection (b), including the 

20 cyber capabilities authorized to be shared under sec21 tion 398 of title 10, United States Code; 

22 (4) a description of any information operations 

23 or public diplomacy efforts associated with any of the 

24 activities described in paragraphs (1) through (3); 

25 and 


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1 (5) a description of the coordination and syn2 chronization of efforts among the Department of 

3 State, the Department of the Treasury, the Office of 

4 the Director of National Intelligence, Department of 

5 Defense, and any other relevant Federal agencies, to 

6 counter Russian mercenary groups and their proxies 

7 in affected countries. 

8 SEC. 6. ENHANCED DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS AND INCREAS9 ING PERSONNEL TO COUNTER THE ACTIVI10 TIES OF THE WAGNER GROUP AND OTHER 

11 RUSSIAN MILITARY COMPANIES. 

12 (a) PLAN TO ENHANCE DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS.—Not 

13 later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 

14 Act, the Secretary of State shall develop and submit to the 

15 appropriate congressional committees a plan for enhancing 

16 diplomatic efforts with governments and regional organiza17 tions to counter the Wagner Group, any relevant successors 

18 to the Wagner Group that engage in similar conduct, and 

19 other Russian mercenary groups and their proxies. Such 

20 plan shall include recommendations for increasing the 

21 number of personnel at certain United States diplomatic 

22 missions to ensure that relevant embassies have the per23 sonnel to focus on the activities, policies, and investments 

24 of Russian mercenary groups and their proxies. 

25 (b) ADDITIONAL STAFFING PLAN.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

3 State shall submit a staffing plan to the appropriate 

4 congressional committees for key diplomatic posts in 

5 Africa (including north Africa) to increase moni6 toring and reporting on the activities of the Wagner 

7 Group, any relevant successors to the Wagner Group 

8 that engage in similar conduct, and other Russian 

9 mercenary groups and their proxies. Such plan shall 

10 identify new incentives for filling positions that are 

11 hard to staff. 

12 (2) FINANCIAL AND HUMAN RESOURCES.—The 

13 Secretary of State shall prioritize efforts to ensure 

14 that United States diplomatic missions in countries 

15 in which the Wagner Group poses a national security 

16 threat have sufficient financial and human resources 

17 to engage in effective public diplomacy to counter the 

18 influence of the Wagner Group and other Russian 

19 mercenary proxy groups. 

20 (c) BRANDING AND MARKING UNITED STATES FOR21 EIGN ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of State, the Adminis22 trator of the United States Agency for International Devel23 opment, and the heads of other relevant Federal depart24 ments and agencies should— 


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1 (1) prescribe the use of the United States flag to 

2 identify, consistent with section 641 of the Foreign 

3 Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2401), all foreign 

4 assistance provided by the United States to countries 

5 in which the Wagner Group poses a national security 

6 threat; 

7 (2) limit the use of branding and marking waiv8 ers, as appropriate, for humanitarian assistance pro9 vided by the United States to such countries; and 

10 (3) only use branding and marking waivers on 

11 a case-by-case basis for non-humanitarian programs 

12 administered by the Department of State, the United 

13 States Agency for International Development, or an14 other Federal department or agency administering 

15 programs in such countries. 

16 (d) EFFORTS TO LIMIT BENEFITS FROM ILLICIT EX17 TRACTION AND TRADE IN NATURAL RESOURCES.—The Sec18 retary of State, in coordination with the heads of other rel19 evant Federal departments and agencies, shall engage in 

20 diplomatic efforts to limit the ability of the Wagner Group, 

21 any successor to the Wagner Group that engages in similar 

22 conduct, and other Russian mercenary proxy groups to en23 gage in, or materially benefit from, the smuggling and il24 licit extraction, refining, and trade of gold and other nat25 ural resources, including by encouraging— 


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1 (1) the harmonization of tax regimes; 

2 (2) the adoption of due diligence and inter3 national standards for conflict-free and responsible 

4 sourcing of natural resources; and 

5 (3) the formalization of artisanal mining sectors. 

6 SEC. 7. STRATEGY TO COUNTER THE WAGNER GROUP. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

8 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 

9 in consultation with relevant Federal agencies, shall develop 

10 and submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 

11 strategy to deter and counter the global activities of the 

12 Wagner Group and any successor to the Wagner Group that 

13 engages in similar conduct. 

14 (b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required under sub15 section (a) shall include the following elements: 

16 (1) Regional and country-specific approaches to 

17 countering the influence and activities of the Wagner 

18 Group and any successor that engages in similar con19 duct in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin 

20 America, including efforts to counter recruitment by 

21 or on behalf of the Wagner Group and any successor 

22 to the Wagner Group that engages in similar conduct. 

23 (2) A comprehensive campaign, conducted in 

24 partnership with the Global Engagement Center, de25 signed to— 


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1 (A) expose the activities of the Wagner 

2 Group and any successor to the Wagner Group 

3 that engages in similar conduct; and 

4 (B) counter the propaganda and 

5 disinformation and misinformation operations of 

6 the Wagner Group. 

7 (3) Examples of past efforts to accomplish the 

8 objectives described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 

9 paragraph (2) and a list of the tools that have been 

10 used for disinformation purposes. 

11 (4) A plan to utilize other tools available to the 

12 United States Government to degrade the operations 

13 of the Wagner Group and any successor to the Wag14 ner Group that engages in similar conduct. 

15 (5) An analysis of policy and programmatic 

16 limitations, gaps, and resource requirements to effec17 tively counter the Russian Federation’s malign influ18 ence and activities in Africa, Latin America, the Car19 ibbean, the Middle East, Asia, and other regions, as 

20 appropriate. 

21 (6) Recommendations for any additional au22 thorities or resources needed to more effectively de23 grade operations and influence of the Wagner Group, 

24 any successor to the Wagner Group that engages in 

25 similar conduct, and similar groups. 


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25 

•S 416 RS

1 (c) FORM.—The strategy required under subsection (a) 

2 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain 

3 a classified annex. 

4 SEC. 8. INFLUENCING INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTI5 TUTIONS TO CONSIDER WAGNER GROUP MIN6 ING CONCESSIONS WHEN CONSIDERING 

7 LOANS AND DEVELOPMENT FINANCING 

8 PROJECTS. 

9 (a) CONSIDERATION BY INTERNATIONAL MONETARY

10 FUND OF MINING CONCESSIONS WITH AFFILIATED ENTI11 TIES OF THE WAGNER GROUP.—The Secretary of State, in 

12 consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall advise 

13 the United States Executive Director of the International 

14 Monetary Fund to use the voice and vote of the United 

15 States to ensure that the International Monetary Fund, 

16 when considering a loan to a country, considers whether 

17 the potential recipient of such loan has provided mining 

18 concessions or direct budgetary support to the Wagner 

19 Group or entities affiliated with the Wagner Group. 

20 (b) CONSIDERATION BY EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF THE

21 UNITED STATES OF MINING PROJECTS.—The Secretary of 

22 State, in consultation with the Secretary of Treasury, shall 

23 advise the United States Chair and Director of the Board 

24 of Governors of the Export-Import Bank of the United 

25 States to use the voice and vote of the United States to enVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S416.RS S416

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26 

•S 416 RS

1 sure that the Export-Import Bank, when considering devel2 opment financing projects, reviews whether the potential re3 cipient has provided mining concessions or direct budgetary 

4 support to the Wagner Group or entities affiliated with the 

5 Wagner Group. 

6 SEC. 9. INFORMATION SHARING ON HIGH-VALUE WAGNER 

7 GROUP TARGETS. 

8 The Secretary of State is authorized to take appro9 priate steps to share information regarding high-value 

10 Wagner Group targets with like-minded foreign government 

11 partners, which could include full names and biometric 

12 data of individual targets, if available and relevant to de13 termining visa restrictions. 


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Calendar No. 147 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 416 

A BILL 

To designate the Russian-based mercenary Wagner 

other purposes. Group as a foreign terrorist organization, and for 

JULY 25, 2023 

Reported with an amendment 


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