Putin’s FSB intelligence troops find £38m cash in a van and two buses in a raid on Prigozhin’s Wagner headquarters
Russian security services have reportedly found £38million in cash in a raid at Wagner’s headquarters in St Petersburg.
Yevgeny Prigozhin has confirmed that the raid by Putin’s FSB troops found a large sum of money hidden in a van and two buses on the property – belonging to the mercenary group.
He did not specify the value of the stash, but previous Russian media reported it was about 4 billion rubles, or £38 million.
In an audio message on Telegram, he explained that the funds are intended to cover compensation payments for killed Wagner soldiers.
“Wagner has worked exclusively with cash for the last 10 years – as agreed in our contract.” “I fully adhere to that,” he said.
Yevgeny Prigozhin has confirmed that the raid found a large sum of money stowed in a van and two buses at the property
The Russian security service (pictured) searched the Wagner Center in St. Petersburg earlier today
The raid takes place as Moscow prepares for war, before the Russian Wagner militia are expected to arrive within hours.
A number of restrictions have now been put in place around the Russian capital by governor’s decree as the Wagner group advance north towards Moscow today after capturing a key military base.
Wagner boss Yevgney Prigozhin initiated an overnight military coup against Putin, in which the group took key cities and threatened the president, who called them “traitors”.
Addressing the Russian people on Saturday, Putin warned that the military leader had “stabbed him in the back” as Moscow goes into lockdown and troops dig in to prepare to defend the city. A spokesman for the Russian President said Putin is still at work in the Kremlin and has not fled Moscow.
Prigozhin and his feared 25,000-strong Wagner militia took control of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on Saturday. They said they were “ready to die” for their “March of Justice” and headed north with hundreds of men in convoys of armored vehicles.