Thread by @Africa_In_EN

[Thread] Who is Igor Morozov, the man Putin has put in charge of facilitating Russian companies' access to African markets? How does AFROCOM, the body promoting Russian business interests in Africa that Morozov chairs, operate? Find out more in this week's investigative report🧵

Igor Morozov is known by every African ambassador in Moscow. The discreet senator and ex-FSB colonel has been AFROCOM's head since 2020. In his role, he makes ready use of his contacts in the intelligence services. Meanwhile, he is also making regular trips to Africa 2/9

In February, the Ethiopian authorities welcomed Morozov with open arms. This trip was also used to prepare the visit, 5 months later, of Sergey Lavrov. AFROCOM is at the heart of economic diplomacy in Africa, from #Sudan to #Uganda via #Angola and the #DRC 3/9

Agribusiness, industrial cooperation, diamond trading, logistics... and also military equipment. Under Morozov, armaments are an integral part of AFROCOM's promotional exercises on the continent. It also engages specialised arms brokers for this purpose 4/9

Notable partners of AFROCOM have included figures such as Jean Ruiz (🇫🇷). In 2020 Ruiz was in talks with AFROCOM to facilitate the sale of AK-47 rifles to #Nigeria. During the pandemic, he also tried to sell Russian vaccine stocks to the Central African Republic and the DRC 5/9

Ruiz was on the radar of the French intelligence services, but it was in Tunisia that he was arrested and then imprisoned last May. He had tried to smuggle Chinese communication jammers into Libya. He died in prison in August, due to lack of adequate care 6/9

Under Morozov, AFROCOM has adopted a strategy of entry into the presidential palaces. It focuses on promoting small and medium-sized enterprises, with a view to surpassing the $20bn annual trade ceiling between Russia and Africa 7/9

As a senator, Morozov found himself on the list of figures targetted by EU sanctions for undermining Ukraine's sovereignty. He likes to play on this and, with AFROCOM, tries to subvert these sanctions to boost exports 8/9

To find out how AFROCOM plans to achieve its goals and to discover more about the Vladimir Putin's main man on Africa, read this week's investigate report:
africaintelligence.com/the-continent/…