A retired IDF general hit by U.S. sanctions for alleged involvement in the South Sudan conflict denied the charges on Sunday, saying they were based on false information.
The U.S. Treasury on Friday slapped sanctions on Maj. Gen. (ret.) Israel Ziv and three firms he controls, accusing him of using an agricultural consulting firm as a cover for weapons sales worth $150 million to the South Sudan government while also arming opposition groups there.
In a statement, the U.S. Treasury said that "While Ziv maintained the loyalty of senior South Sudan government officials through bribery and promises of security support, he has also reportedly planned to organize attacks by mercenaries on South Sudanese oil fields and infrastructure, in an effort to create a problem that only his company and affiliates could solve."
Ziv formerly headed the IDF's Operations Directorate, and after retiring from the military, he founded security consultation firm Global CST.
In an interview with Army Radio Sunday, Ziv said he had never trafficked in weaponry and called the charges against him "ludicrous, baseless and completely divorced from reality."
"We have an amazing agricultural project there ... that many communities depend on. Tens of thousands of people are employed through this project and it feeds the South Sudan market. So anyone who claims this project is a cover should come see it," he said.
Under U.S. President Donald Trump, the White House has championed international arms embargoes against South Sudan to pressure President Salva Kiir to end the country's civil war and humanitarian crisis.
Two South Sudanese nationals, Obac William Olawo and Gregory Vasili, were named alongside Ziv in Friday's U.S. Treasury sanctions notice. Neither was immediately available for comment.
"This is not the first time the [U.S.] administration has used sanctions to enforce its foreign policy," Ziv said.
"I am approachable. ... I want to believe in the decency of the administration. And they are welcome to come, to check, to investigate. We will open up everything for them," he said.
The i24 News website reported that Ziv has been on the U.S. Treasury's radar for some time, after being flagged in 2009 over his dealings in Latin America, especially in Colombia, Panama and Peru.
South Sudan, Africa's newest state, gained independence from Sudan in 2011. Just two years later, the country erupted into conflict after Kiir sacked Riek Machar as vice president. Ethnically charged fighting soon spread, shutting down oil fields and forcing millions to flee.
At least 383,000 South Sudanese have died as a result of the war, through combat, starvation, disease or other factors, according to a recent study by London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine researchers.
Under pressure from governments in East Africa and from United Nations and Western donors, Machar's group signed a peace accord with other rebel factions and the government in September that will see him restored to the role of vice president in the country.
