"Wagner" exports gold from Africa to Belarus — WSJ

For the past three months, gold from the Central African Republic, whose extraction is controlled by "Wagner," has been sent to Belarus. The Belarusian trail is described in a WSJ article about the 28-year-old heir of "Wagner's" founder. The newspaper refers to officials, former associates of the Wagner mercenaries, and researchers of their activities.

According to the publication, in April, Pavel Prigozhin gathered representatives of "Wagner" and the government in a hotel in Bangui, the capital of the CAR.

They discussed how to maintain gold exports, avoiding international control and bypassing the markets of the United Arab Emirates.

After the talks, the CAR Minister of Mining Industry agreed to assist with documents presenting gold as state property, WSJ sources said. According to officials and local researchers, for the past three months, these shipments have been directed to Belarus.

Pavel Prigozhin inherited the business after his father's death in a plane crash in August 2023 — two months after the "Wagner" mutiny. He was 25 years old at the time.

Previously known as a connoisseur of private jets and luxury yachts, his father had prepared his son in advance for managing family affairs. By the age of 20, Pavel Prigozhin managed the family's luxury mansions and property, and later participated in military operations in Syria and Ukraine, where he served as a drone operator and intelligence officer.

The Central African Republic became the center of his current business. According to the WSJ, about 500 mercenaries are under Prigozhin's command. They guard President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, fight against rebels, and have influence in local security structures.

Prigozhin regularly flies to Bangui from St. Petersburg and stays at the Ledger Plaza Hotel, which effectively serves as his headquarters. Armed guards check even high-ranking officials who come for meetings.

According to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, the value of annual production at the largest gold mine controlled by the group reaches 250 million dollars.

Researchers estimate the total annual income of the family business — both legal and criminal — at more than 400 million dollars.

In addition to gold, Prigozhin's structures, according to the investigation, profit from supplying weapons to armed groups in Sudan and Libya, producing beer and vodka, and also control a significant part of the local market for tramadol — an opioid painkiller.

After the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, Moscow tried to subordinate "Wagner's" African operations to the Ministry of Defense through the newly created "African Corps." However, in the CAR, his son maintained control: according to diplomats, Touadéra himself asked the Kremlin not to replace the Wagner mercenaries with Russian military personnel.

Researchers suggest that Pavel Prigozhin may have agreed with the Kremlin on continuing operations. At the same time, "Wagner's" structures continue to finance pro-Russian propaganda in the CAR.

Belarus has been previously linked to "Wagner's" African logistics. In November 2023, iSANS reported an Il-76 flight from Bobruisk to Bangui, and in September 2024, there was a flight from Orsha to the CAR capital. Researchers speculated that the planes might have been transporting mercenaries or their property.

After Yevgeny Prigozhin's mutiny in June 2023, some mercenaries relocated to Belarus. In July, the Ministry of Defense of Belarus officially announced that Wagner mercenaries were training Belarusian territorial troops near Asipovichy.

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