A pro-Kremlin newspaper has released footage from an alleged raid on Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's estate during the private military company's brief mutiny last month, reportedly offering an insight into the life of the Russian oligarch.
Russian news outlet Izvestia reported Wednesday that it had "received" footage from the raid on Prigozhin's home in St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 24, which was carried out by Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) agents as Prigozhin's mercenaries creeped toward Moscow during his 24-hour uprising. Prigozhin, who has since exiled to Belarus as part of the peace negotiations brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, said the rebellion was a protest of the Russian military's actions in the war on Ukraine.
According to the videos and pictures released by Izvestia, Russian law enforcement confiscated "weapons and cartridges for them, several passports, wigs, gold bars" and "money in various currencies" during the search. Purported photos from the raid show several rifle-style weapons and extensive ammunition stocks laid out on a bedroom floor.
Other pictures showed the oligarch's living room, kitchen and apparent personal office, which included a pool table. Prigozhin also seemed to have a well-stocked medical room designated in his house, as well as an indoor swimming pool, a hot tub and a personal prayer room. Izvestia also included a photo of a cabinet filled with several wigs of varying hair colors, and a shot of Prigozhin's helicopter parked in the courtyard behind the building.
Raids were conducted on several properties linked to Prigozhin on June 24, and Russian officials seized around 10 billion rubles ($111.2 million) in cash and five gold bars in total during the searches. The St. Petersburg news outlet Fontanka reported on Tuesday that all of said assets had been returned to Priogzhin.
The Wagner Group founder has yet to make a public appearance since the end of his rebellion, and the future of his private mercenary group is largely unknown. On Monday, a Telegram channel used by the group for recruitment purposes posted that it was temporarily freezing all hiring while its troops relocate to Belarus. Satellite imagery along with local Russian and Belarusian reports last week also suggest that at least three large field camps are in the works in Belarus, which may be used as future training grounds for Wagner forces.
NATO officials have previously indicated that Wagner's relocation into Belarus is cause for concern. A Latvian diplomat who spoke with Newsweek on the condition of anonymity previously said that their country was "watching and assessing" the mercenaries' arrival in Belarus, adding, "It's not really clear yet what is, or will be, Wagner's presence."
Newsweek has emailed the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment.
