“Russia 1” showed footage of a search in the mansion of Yevgeny Prigozhin – Kommersant

The publications Fontanka, Izvestia, as well as the Rossiya-1 TV channel showed footage from a search in a mansion allegedly owned by Wagner PMC founder Yevgeny Prigozhin. Mr. Prigozhin himself did not comment on this in any way. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and other law enforcement agencies did not comment on the published footage and pictures.

According to “Fontanki”they came to the mansion in the cottage settlement “Northern Versailles” within the boundaries of St. Petersburg with a search on June 24 – on the day of the Wagner PMC rebellion.

Footage from the search in the mansion on the air “Russia-1” (timing – 1 hour 40 minutes) was presented by Eduard Petrov, head of the VGTRK criminal programs release service. He called the alleged house of Yevgeny Prigozhin “the palace of the fighter against corruption.” The video showed boxes of money, white briquettes, weapons, mansion interiors, fake passports, a closet with wigs and makeup.

“Fontanka” has published a photo of the diploma awarding Yevgeny Prigozhin the title of Hero of Russia. The published document is dated June 20, 2022. The publication also published a photo of a huge sledgehammer with the inscription “in case of important negotiations” and a framed photograph of decapitated heads in the desert hanging on the wall. According to Fontanka, the mansion has a medical office with equipment used in intensive care units. The Rossiya-1 report does not contain these details.

In addition to Fontanka, on the evening of July 5, footage of searches in the mansion was published by the newspaper “News”. At the same time, the edition reportedthat they found weapons, wigs, bundles of currency and a “prayer room” in it.

On June 23, the founder of Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, announced a “justice march”. The Russian authorities regarded this as an armed rebellion. PMC mercenaries have established control over military facilities in Rostov-on-Don, including over the headquarters of the Southern Military District. A criminal case was initiated on armed rebellion. The situation was resolved on the evening of June 24 through the mediation of the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko. The fighters turned the columns and went to the field camps.

On the day of the rebellion, as reported Fontanka, in St. Petersburg, near the Trezzini Hotel, which is believed to be the office of Yevgeny Prigozhin, they found a Gazelle, in which there were boxes with five thousandth bills. Yevgeny Prigozhin said that this money relied on the salaries of mercenaries, as well as payments to the families of the victims. On June 27, the FSB announced that the criminal case against Yevgeny Prigozhin was closed. According to “Fontanki”, found during searches 10 billion rubles. returned to Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Anastasia Larina