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These days, a young name remains at the center of discussion in the world of international politics and geopolitical mysteries. Called the world’s most notorious and dangerous private military group. Wagner Group After the mysterious death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was the leader of 28 year old son Pavel Prigozhin Has taken command of this huge empire. After the death of his father, Powell not only took over the inheritance at a very young age, but also transformed this empire into a new global network through gold mines, arms trade, mercenaries and drug trafficking. This story of Powell, who is controlling the activities of about 500 mercenaries from Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), is no less than a film thriller. Let us know how this scary and shiny empire worth millions of dollars is running in the hands of this young man.
Death of father Yevgeny Prigozhin and Pavel’s takeover of the Wagner empire
Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a very mysterious private jet crash in the skies of Russia in August 2023. The top military commander of Wagner Group and eight other people were also killed in this horrific accident. At that time, Pavel was only 25 years old. It is noteworthy that it was Yevgeny Prigozhin who raised Wagner as a powerful private army, which fought on the frontline on behalf of Russia in the Ukraine War and later expanded its sphere of influence in African countries.
Yevgeny died under suspicious circumstances just two months after leading a brief and unsuccessful armed rebellion against Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to a report in the prestigious newspaper ‘The Washington Post’, since then Powell has not only completely preserved Wagner’s old work in the Central African Republic, but has also expanded it internationally on a large scale.
Annual business of more than 400 million dollars and luxurious life
According to estimates by the Geneva-based Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, the Prigozhin family’s business involves both legal and illegal activities, generating a total of 100,000 people each year. $400 million (about Rs 3,300 crore) Earns huge amount of more than Rs.
According to reports from the Anti-Corruption Foundation associated with the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Pavel has been known for his extremely luxurious and extravagant lifestyle since his young age. In the pictures surfaced on social media, he has been seen roaming on expensive private jets and luxury yacht of the family. Security and intelligence researchers say that when Pavel was only 20 years old, his father handed him the responsibility of managing the family’s luxurious villas and commercial apartment buildings. According to the investigative group ‘All Eyes on Wagner’, Yevgeny considered Pavel to be his most trusted and main heir among his three children.
Pavel’s training in the battlefield from Syria to Ukraine
Yevgeny Prigozhin had made every effort to present his son Pavel as a fearsome Russian patriot and warrior. Many such documents and photographs have surfaced on social media in which Powell is shown fighting on the frontline during the Syrian civil war. He was also awarded Wagner’s prestigious ‘Black Cross’ for his bravery and military skill in Syria.
After this, he also served as an Intelligence Officer and drone operator in the ongoing fierce war between Russia and Ukraine. This early experience on the battlefield has taught Pavel the skill of controlling the dreaded mercenaries at such a young age.
Gold mines and dangerous web of illegal trade in Africa
According to the report of the Pentagon-funded ‘Africa Center for Strategic Studies’, Wagner Group has made a huge deal of $ 10 million per month in Mali in exchange for the security of the military government there. Additionally, in Libya their fighters have secured control of rebel-held oil wells, while in Sudan the group has provided surface-to-air missiles to the ‘Rapid Support Forces’ in exchange for gold smuggling.
The Central African Republic (CAR) has become the center of attention for the syndicate’s most profitable operations. Here Wagner has started illegal international trade of precious minerals by forcibly taking over the gold mines. Following the historic 2023 uprising, when Wagner’s fighters advanced on Moscow and accused the Russian military leadership of corruption, the Kremlin tightened its control over Wagner’s businesses and assets within Russia. After this, Russia formed ‘Africa Corps’, so that these military operations going on in the African continent could be brought directly under its Defense Ministry.
Wagner is transforming from a military force to a global ‘organized crime syndicate’
Powell arrived in Bangui soon after his father’s death, where he held secret meetings with local commanders and senior government officials. Through these meetings he played a major role in integrating Wagner’s fighters into the country’s local police and intelligence services. Today, Wagner is no longer just a conventional military force or a private army, but has also completely entered the illegal black market of consumer goods and drugs.
The group is currently commercially producing and selling its own vodka under the name ‘Wa Wa Wa’ (fire and flame) and beer under the name ‘Africa Tea Lor’. Additionally, this dreaded group also exercises major control over the local and regional black market of ‘Tramadol’ (a highly dangerous prescription opioid drug). Security and diplomacy experts around the world believe that Wagner has now completely transformed from a professional special-forces group into a dangerous global network of organized crime, the keys of which have now been completely handed over to 28-year-old young Pavel Prigozhin.