According to an investigation published by The Wall Street Journal, Pavel Prigozhin, the son of the late Yevgeny Prigozhin, has supposedly managed to retain control over the remnants of the Wagner private military company in the Central African Republic (CAR). These claims, however, require further independent verification from international monitors.

While the Russian authorities previously sought to subordinate all former Wagner assets under the umbrella of the Russian defense ministry's newly formed 'Africa Corps', local dynamics reportedly unfolded differently. The CAR's President, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, allegedly petitioned Moscow to keep the legacy contractors in place, subsequently integrating them into the national police, military, and intelligence frameworks.

The publication asserts that the network managed by the younger Prigozhin generates upwards of $400 million annually through various illicit and licit operations. This reportedly includes the exploitation of the CAR's largest gold mine, with precious metals being smuggled abroad—ostensibly through transit routes involving Belarus—and substantial profits from local brewing and security contracts.

Furthermore, the report alleges that the group controls a major share of the regional tramadol market and supplies weaponry to insurgent factions operating in neighboring Sudan and Libya. Although based in St. Petersburg, Pavel Prigozhin purportedly makes regular trips to Bangui to oversee the lucrative enterprise from the group's de facto headquarters.

Source: kun.uz