Mutiny case against Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin remains open

A criminal case against Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin for mutiny remains open and is being investigated, the Kommersant newspaper as well as Russia’s three main news agencies reported citing unidentified sources.

On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to crush what he called a treasonous mutiny after Prigozhin said his Wagner Group fighters had taken control of the southern city of Rostov and were heading to Moscow on what he said was a “march for justice” intended to remove corrupt and incompetent Russian commanders.

Under a deal mediated by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko that defused the crisis late on Saturday, the Kremlin said a criminal case against Prigozhin would be dropped and he would move to Belarus.

The Kremlin also had said Prigozhin’s fighters would return to base and would also face no legal action.

However, Russia’s Kommersant newspaper reported on Monday that the criminal case remained open and that the Federal Security Service (FSB) was continuing its investigation as part of the case. It cited an unidentified source as saying there had not been enough time to close the case.

Russia’s three main news agencies – TASS, RIA and Interfax – also reported that the criminal case against Prigozhin remained open and that the investigation was continuing.

“The criminal case against Prigozhin has not stopped,” TASS cited a source close to the prosecutor’s office as saying. “The investigation is ongoing.”

The prison term under Russian law for such a crime is 12-20 years.

Prigozhin, who has not been seen in public since leaving Rostov late on Saturday and has not commented on the deal, denied leading a mutiny.

Prigozhin, once a close Putin ally whose Wagner Group has spearheaded much of the fighting in Ukraine, launched his rebellion on Friday after alleging that the Russian military had killed some of his men in an air strike.

The Defence Ministry denied his claim.

With inputs from Reuters

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