Unofficial Telegram channels in Russia say that according to the terms of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s will, his assets and control of his business empire were bequeathed to his 25-year-old son, Pavel, reports CNN on Monday, quoted by News.ro.
Pavel Prigojin, son of Evgeni PrigojinPhoto: Not supplied / WillWest News / Profimedia
Yevgeny Prigozhin, former staunch ally of Vladimir Putin and owner of mercenary company Wagner, died in a plane crash in August.
One of the Telegram channels, named “Port”, claims to have obtained a copy of Prigojin’s will and published an image of it. The document, which is believed to have been notarized on March 2, would name Prigojin’s 25-year-old son, Pavel, as the sole heir to his extensive assets, including the Wagner Group.
The unofficial source suggests that Pavel Prigojin filed an inheritance claim on September 8.
Port also claims that Pavel is ready to collect all the debts owed to his father, estimating that the Russian Ministry of Defense owes Prigozhin’s business empire up to 800 million dollars. It is impossible to verify this figure, says CNN.
Pro-Wagner channels harping on the story that Prigozhin’s son, Pavel, as the main beneficiary of his father’s will is negotiating the transfer of Wagner structures to Rosgvardiya. There is still a lack of evidence but convenient way to avoid going under MoD. pic.twitter.com/tvWcUU6P1C
— Jack Margolin (@Jack_Mrgln) October 2, 2023
Pavel Prigozhin would actively negotiate the return of Wagner fighters to the front in Ukraine
In June, after Prigozhin’s short-lived revolt against the country’s military leadership, President Vladimir Putin said its businesses had received 86 billion rubles (about $850 million) in funding from the Defense Ministry between May 2022 and May 2023. In addition, Prigozhin’s catering company Concord earned 80 billion rubles from state contracts to supply food to the Russian military, Putin said at the time.
Telegram channels associated with Wagner have stated that Pavel Prigozhin is actively negotiating the return of Wagner personnel to the combat zone in Ukraine. The claims cannot be verified and it is not clear if the Wagner fighters would be integrated into different military structures, writes CNN.
The Gray Zone Telegram channel, which frequently reported on Wagner and Evgheni Prigojin, stated that Paul is negotiating with the elite Russian force Rosgvardia on the subject of the return of Wagner fighters to the war in Ukraine.
Rosgvardia received much of Wagner’s heavy weaponry after the private military company was disarmed in the wake of the uprising.
CNN states that it cannot independently verify these accounts or the authenticity of the will.
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