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The Wall Street Journal reports that Pavel Prigozhin retained control of Wagner fighters in the Central African Republic after his father’s death and expanded the family’s operations. The report describes security, mining and commercial activities, but many details rely on the newspaper’s sources and estimates; the Kremlin’s role and the full scale of the network remain unclear.
Pavel Prigozhin, son of late Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, retained control of Wagner fighters in the Central African Republic and expanded the family’s business there after Russian authorities took over much of the organization, The Wall Street Journal reported. The account describes an operation combining security roles with commercial interests, including gold mining, and suggests Wagner-linked influence has persisted despite Moscow’s effort to reorganize its forces in Africa.
The Journal reported that roughly 500 Wagner fighters are based in Bangui, the CAR capital. They guard President Faustin-Archange Touadéra and fight rebel groups, while also taking part in business activities, according to the newspaper. The report said Touadéra asked the Kremlin not to replace the fighters with Russian Defense Ministry troops and integrated Wagner personnel into the country’s police, army and intelligence services.
The newspaper said Pavel Prigozhin controls the country’s largest gold deposit, which it estimated generates $250 million a year. It reported that local authorities help move gold abroad by declaring it government property, with shipments routed through Belarus over the preceding three months. The Journal also described Wagner-linked interests in tramadol, weapons sales to rebel groups in Sudan and Libya, and vodka and beer production in the CAR.
An estimate from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime put the Prigozhin family’s annual earnings at more than $400 million, the Journal reported. Those figures are estimates, not independently verified accounts in the source material. The newspaper also reported that Wagner owns local radio stations broadcasting messages that praise Russia and Touadéra and criticize the West.
Wagner’s Role in Central Africa
The report points to a gap between Russia’s formal reorganization of Wagner and the group’s reported presence on the ground. After Yevgeny Prigozhin died, Russian authorities took control of the organization and established the Defense Ministry’s Africa Corps, which was intended to assume command of Wagner personnel in Africa. If the Journal’s account is accurate, Pavel Prigozhin has maintained a separate base of influence in the CAR, supported by the host government and connected to both state security and lucrative trade.
That arrangement matters because the fighters are reported to serve several roles at once: protecting the president, fighting armed opponents and supporting commercial operations. The report raises questions about who exercises effective control over these personnel, and how closely their activities are tied to Russia’s official military structure. It also describes business revenues that could help sustain influence beyond formal command arrangements.
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From Wagner to Africa Corps
Yevgeny Prigozhin died in August 2023. His son Pavel, then 25, inherited his estate, which the report valued at 12 billion rubles. The elder Prigozhin was also survived by his wife, two daughters and mother. Meduza’s account of the Journal report says the will required Pavel to provide them with a “decent standard of living.” A separate outlet, Port, citing an unnamed source, claimed Pavel’s reluctance to share the inheritance had caused a family dispute; that allegation is not independently established here.
Following the elder Prigozhin’s death, Russian authorities took control of Wagner and formed the Defense Ministry’s Africa Corps, intended to bring Wagner fighters in Africa under the ministry’s command. The Journal’s reporting suggests the transition was not uniform in the CAR. It said Pavel lives in St. Petersburg and visits Bangui regularly, staying at the Ledger Plaza hotel, which has effectively become a Wagner headquarters. Armed fighters guard the grounds, and government officials are screened before meeting him, the newspaper reported.
Questions Over Control and Revenue
The source material does not provide the Journal’s underlying documents or a response from Pavel Prigozhin, the Kremlin, the CAR government or the Defense Ministry. It is therefore unclear how the reported arrangement with Russian authorities works, whether Africa Corps has any command over the fighters in Bangui, or how many personnel remain tied to Pavel’s network.
The reported income and business links also require caution. The $250 million gold figure and the estimate of more than $400 million in annual family earnings are attributed estimates. The source does not detail their methodology, the division of proceeds or independent confirmation of alleged gold shipments, drug sales and arms transfers. The claims about shipments through Belarus over three months describe the period cited by the report, not a verified ongoing pattern.
What the Report Leaves to Verify
The next developments to watch are any responses from the Russian and Central African governments, and whether officials provide details about the status of Wagner fighters in the country or their relationship with Africa Corps. Independent reporting or public records could also clarify ownership of the gold operations, how exports are documented and whether the reported revenue estimates can be substantiated.
For now, the claims should be read as findings attributed to The Wall Street Journal, as relayed by Meduza. The source material does not identify a formal investigation, government announcement or scheduled decision that would settle the questions of command and commercial control.
Key Questions
What did the Wall Street Journal report about Pavel Prigozhin?
The Journal reported that Pavel Prigozhin retained Wagner fighters in the Central African Republic after his father’s death and expanded the family’s commercial operations there.
How many Wagner fighters are reportedly in the CAR?
The report put the number at about 500 fighters based in Bangui. That figure is attributed to the Journal and is not independently confirmed in the source material.
What businesses does the report link to the Prigozhin network?
The report describes gold mining, tramadol, weapons sales, and vodka and beer production, alongside security work. These are reported claims; details and independent verification are not provided in the source material.
Has Russia formally put the CAR fighters under Africa Corps?
The source says Africa Corps was created to take command of Wagner’s fighters in Africa, but reports that Pavel retained control of the CAR contingent. It does not establish the fighters’ precise current chain of command.
How much money does the family reportedly earn?
The Journal cited an estimate from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime that the family earns more than $400 million annually. The source does not provide the estimate’s methodology or independent confirmation.
Source: rss
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