Mnangagwa also oversees Zimbabwe’s security services that violently repress opponents and civil society. The president’s wife facilitates her husband’s corrupt activities

Treasury Sanctions Zimbabwe’s President and Key Actors for Corruption and Serious Human Rights Abuse

Following U.S. termination of the Zimbabwe Sanctions Program, Treasury designates key actors under the Global Magnitsky Program

The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 11 individuals, including Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa, and three entities for their involvement in corruption or serious human rights abuse pursuant to E.O. 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.

Concurrently, President Biden signed an Executive Order (E.O.) terminating the national emergency with respect to Zimbabwe and revoking the E.O.s that have authorized Zimbabwe-specific sanctions. As a result, the economic sanctions administered by OFAC pursuant to the Zimbabwe sanctions program are no longer in effect.

This transition to sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Program, consistent with recommendations in Treasury’s 2021 Sanctions Review, emphasizes the U.S. commitment to promoting accountability for corrupt and abusive networks restricting the political rights and economic resources of the people of Zimbabwe.

“The United States remains deeply concerned about democratic backsliding, human rights abuses, and government corruption in Zimbabwe,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. “The changes we are making today are intended to make clear what has always been true: our sanctions are not intended to target the people of Zimbabwe. Today we are refocusing our sanctions on clear and specific targets: President Mnangagwa’s criminal network of government officials and businesspeople who are most responsible for corruption or human rights abuse against the people of Zimbabwe. These changes to our approach provide an opportunity for the Government of Zimbabwe to undertake key reforms to improve its record on human rights, good governance, and anti-corruption. Consistent with the findings of Treasury’s 2021 sanctions review, we are committed to the use of economic sanctions towards a clear and specific objective, in coordination with diplomacy and other tools of statecraft.”