The US Office of Foreign Assets Control is targeting two South Sudanese government officials and one former official, plus three companies that are one of the officials owns/controls. Meanwhile, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has issued a non-binding 'advisory' to financial institutions to watch for movements of assets belonging to South Sudanese politically exposed persons.

The US Treasury, which is co-ordinating the effort, is claiming that it does not like the idea of PEPs enriching themselves at the expense of their citizenry.
 
OFAC has sanctioned Malek Reuben Riak Rengu, Michael Makuei Lueth and Paul Malong Awan, in addition to three companies owned or controlled by Malek Reuben Riak Rengu, in line with Executive Order (EO) 13664, which authorises sanctions against people to do with South Sudan. All their assets within the jurisdiction of the United States are blocked and 'US persons' (companies included) are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them. FinCEN has issued an 'advisory' to alert US financial institutions to their potential exposure to "anti-money laundering risks" caused by certain South Sudanese senior political figures attempting to use the US financial system to move or hide the proceeds of public corruption. It is always keen to receive suspicious activity reports (SARs) related to senior foreign political figures.

Between 2013 and 2016, Malek Reuben Riak Rengu, the deputy chief of defence force and inspector-general of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), also held the position of deputy chief of staff for logistics of the SPLA. When he did so, he played a central part in the procurement of weapons during the first few years of the conflict in South Sudan. United Nations experts say that ammunition that the SPLA supplied to youth groups was crucial in sustaining an offensive that resulted in widespread transgressions against human rights. Malek Reuben allegedly supported a hard-line position in a mid-2015 meeting of the National Liberation Council, which met and decided to reject a draft peace proposal. The Americans allege that he 'reportedly' used his logistics position to issue contracts with inflated prices in order to receive extensive kickbacks. In 2015, it suspects, he fabricated procurement contracts for food provision to SPLA troops. Malek Reuben also reportedly controls a private company, Mak International Services Co Ltd, that sells explosives to private companies in South Sudan in an arrangement promoted on an exclusive basis by the SPLA, and has received payments and cash deposits of hundreds of thousands of US dollars by foreign-backed companies.
 
OFAC has also sanctioned or 'designated' All Energy Investments Ltd, A+ Engineering, Electronics & Media Printing Co. Ltd, and Mak International Services Co Ltd – all based in South Sudan – for being owned or controlled by Malek Reuben.
 
Michael Makuei Lueth, the minister of information and broadcasting, is suspected of orchestrating/being involved in attacks against UN missions, obstructing humanitarian aid and perpetuating conflict in his country. Paul Malong Awan, the SPLA's former chief of general staff, is accused of similar things and also of acts of corruption. After his dismissal from his post, Malong was stopped outside Juba in early May 2017 and reportedly found with currency worth millions of US dollars that he had allegedly stolen from the SPLA treasury. In 2014, under Malong, the ministry of defence procured loans of billions of dollars from South Sudanese oil companies in order to acquire military equipment but had still not made any actual military purchases later in the year. Malong reportedly has several properties outside his country and several of his children have owned stakes in companies that appear to operate in a wide range of business sectors, including a petroleum company.