According to a new report, long before his private jet crashed last week, Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin had feared that the plane could be the means of his assassination.
As the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, when traveling on the $10 million Embraer Legacy 600, the Wagner mercenary boss used a web of deception, regularly turning off the transponder and making last-minute changes to flight schedules and passenger manifests.
The business jet was with Prigozhin and his first lieutenants on board when it crashed halfway between Moscow and St. Petersburg on August 23, killing all seven passengers and three crew members.
The crash came exactly two months after Prigozhin launched a short-lived armed uprising against Russia’s military leadership, posing the greatest challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s authority in his 23-year rule.
The Kremlin has denied involvement in the crash, but initial US intelligence assessments reportedly suggest that Prigozhin was assassinated, possibly by a bomb on board the plane.
Long before his private jet crashed last week, Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin had feared that the plane could be the means of his assassination
When Prigozhin traveled on the $10 million Embraer Legacy 600 (pictured above), he used a web of deception, regularly turning off the transponder and submitting last-minute flight plan changes
Prigozhin had lived under US sanctions for years, had a $10 million American bounty on his head, and had mastered the art of incognito travel.
According to the Journal, the jet in which Prigozhin died had changed its registration and jurisdiction several times since a Prigozhin-affiliated Seychelles-based company acquired it in 2018 from a company registered in Britain’s Isle of Man tax haven.
For a one-way trip to the African countries where Wagner has contracts, Prigozhin sometimes shuttled between two or three different jets, the outlet reported.
The jet’s crew often traveled with false passports and checked passenger lists just before takeoff, only to radio air traffic control mid-flight of a sudden change of destination.
Prigozhin was known to wear elaborate disguises, including beards and fake military uniforms, and pose as an Arab warlord.
He also frequently held meetings on his jet at one of the few airports he could land at, for a quick escape if anything went wrong.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin spokesman said on Wednesday that “willful misconduct” was among the possible causes of the plane crash that killed Prigozhin.
Rescuers work at the site of the Prigozhin plane crash near the village of Kuzhenkino, Tver Region, Russia, on August 23, 2023
Flames can be seen after the Yevgeny Prigozhin plane crashed in Russia’s Tver region
During his daily conference call, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters that there were “various versions” of what happened and were being “considered” by Russian investigators, including “let’s say: intentional misconduct.”
The Interstate Aviation Committee, the Moscow-based body that oversees civil aviation in most former Soviet republics, said in an online statement Wednesday that it is not currently investigating the crash, although the agency has an accident investigation division.
Peskov said there could be no international investigation into why the plane fell from the sky and urged reporters to wait until Russia’s investigative committee completed its review.
The committee announced last week that it had opened criminal proceedings to investigate possible aviation safety violations, a standard procedure in Russia when there is no immediate reason to suspect wrongdoing.
Prigozhin, 62, was buried in his hometown of St. Petersburg in a private ceremony that was kept secret until Tuesday evening, when his spokesmen announced the location of his grave.
Russian investigators inspect part of a crashed private jet near the village of Kuzhenkino in the Tver region of Russia on August 24
A portrait of Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin lies on flowers on the grave at Porokhovskoye Cemetery in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Wednesday
Western officials and analysts believe the Wagner private army continues to operate, particularly in Africa’s Sahel region, where Russian mercenaries have provided security against extremist organizations such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
“I am sure they will find a replacement for Prigozhin,” European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Wednesday after chairing talks among EU defense ministers.
“Wagner will continue to act in the service of Putin in Africa and do what they do, which does not contribute to peace in the Sahel or to the defense of the rights of Saharan Africans,” Borrell said.
Africa is crucial for Russia – economically and politically.
That summer, Wagner helped bring about a national referendum in the Central African Republic that consolidated presidential power; it is an important partner of the Malian army in the fight against armed rebels; and it contacted the military junta in Niger, which wanted to use its services after a coup.
Expanding ties and undermining Western influence in Africa are top priorities as the Kremlin seeks new allies during its war in Ukraine, where Wagner fighters helped Russia win a long and bloody battle for the city of Bakhmut .
The 54 African nations make up the largest voting bloc at the United Nations, and Moscow has actively worked to win their support for the invasion.