24-6-2023 (MOSCOW) The head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, revealed in a recent voice message on Telegram that Russian security services have seized a large sum of money during a raid on the mercenary group’s office in St. Petersburg.
According to local media reports, cardboard boxes filled with banknotes totaling up to 4 billion rubles (over €43 million) were discovered by the FSB security service during the raid on Saturday.
Prigozhin confirmed the presence of cash and stated that he has exclusively used cash for the past decade. He claimed that the money was intended for paying the salaries of Wagner fighters and compensating the families of those who have lost their lives. The PMC Wagner Center in St. Petersburg has been cordoned off by security forces following accusations against Prigozhin of plotting an armed rebellion in Russia.
A correspondent from Xinhua News Agency observed multiple police cars stationed near the center, with law enforcement officers present. The surrounding neighborhoods remain calm.
The Russian Federal Security Service’s Public Relations Center announced the initiation of a criminal case against Prigozhin for inciting armed insurrection. This move followed the release of several audio recordings on Prigozhin’s Telegram channel, in which he alleged that his units had come under attack and accused Russia’s military leadership of orchestrating the strikes, as reported by TASS news agency.
