Two weeks after the failed rebellion of the paramilitary group Wagner, the Russian authorities seem to be attacking the very lucrative business of its leader.
Is Yevgeny Prigojine’s empire collapsing? Two weeks after the mutiny of the mercenaries of the Wagner group in Russia, several indications seem to attest to the dismantling of the goods and businesses of their famous leader. A gradual erasure, like the headquarters of the Russian militia, in Saint-Petersburg, where the famous “W” logo was removed from the windows on Thursday July 2.
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Media, relays of influence, catering companies, financial heritage… The almighty Evguéni Prigozhin, whose location is the subject of many rumours, is losing, piece by piece, his financial empire, according to the revelations of several Russian media.
1News sites blocked
The relays of influence of Evguéni Prigojine deprived of voice. Information portals belonging to the media group Patriot, close to the boss of Wagner, were blocked from June 30 by the Russian telecoms policeman. Several Russian political and economic news sites, including Ria Fan, all linked to the group of Yevgeny Prigojine, were inaccessible from Russia, AFP journalists noted.
Their internet addresses appear in the register “Restricted” of Roskomnadzor, the Russian government agency responsible for blocking illegal and extremist content, as well as media and other resources banned by the authorities. Other outlets linked to the Patriot group, Nevskie Novosti and Ekonomika Segodnia, have announced that they are ceasing operations, according to their respective Telegram channels.
Until May, the Wagner boss was head of the board of directors of the Patriot media group, created in 2019, and then vice-chairman of its board of directors, according to Russian media. According to The GuardianRussian authorities also appear to be absorbing the Internet Research Agency (IRA), a troll factory linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin, best known for his interference in the 2016 US presidential election.
2Terminated public contracts
THE “to cook” of Vladimir Poutine also sees the base of its empire to erode. Its catering and catering companies, including the flagship Concord, which had been supplying meals to Russian soldiers for 15 years, have lost all their lucrative public contracts, says West France. The conglomerate had been sued for years for repeated breaches of hygiene standards and deceptions intended to cut costs, recalls Release.
The blow is hard for Evguéni Prigojine, because these contracts with the army were lucrative. On June 27, Vladimir Putin himself acknowledged that the state had “fully funded” the Wagner group, pointing out that the catering company Concord, owned by Evguéni Prigojine, had “at the same time earned 80 billion rubles”around 850 million euros, thanks to Russian public orders.
“I hope that during these operations no one stole anything or, so to speak, ‘stole little'”continued the Russian president. “Of course we will take care of [vérifier] all of this”promised the Russian autocrat, during a meeting with military officials broadcast on television after Wagner’s coup.
3A search of his home
The personal fortune of Yevgeny Prigojine is also in the sights of the Russian authorities. Russian media broadcast images on Wednesday of the search of the home of the leader of the paramilitary group Wagner, carried out in Saint Petersburg, during his attempted armed rebellion at the end of June. These photos, obviously taken by law enforcement and suddenly published in several Russian public and private media, show a large and luxurious house, with a helicopter parked in the garden.
During the search, according to these photos, the investigators also discovered wads of dollars and rubles, gold bars, numerous weapons, but also several passports with different names and a cupboard full of wigs. The St. Petersburg-based Fontanka site also reported that a photo with “severed heads” had been found at the home of Evguéni Prigojine, while his mercenaries are regularly accused of abuses.
Fontanka also posted a snapshot showing a huge mass placed in a room of Yevgeny Prigojine’s house and whose metal head bears the message “In case of important negotiations”. The mace is one of the symbols of the Wagner group, which boasts of using this weapon to execute or savagely torture its enemies.