The Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary company formerly run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, is about to receive a terrorist organization designation from the UK government.
A draft order that would permit the group’s assets to be designated as terrorist property and seized is expected to be introduced in parliament, the BBC reported.
According to the report, Wagner’s activities in the Ukraine and Africa pose a “threat to global security” and are described by the home secretary Suella Braverman as “violent and destructive… a military tool of Vladimir Putin’s Russia.”.
“Wagner’s ongoing destabilizing activities only continue to serve the Kremlin’s political goals,” Braverman said.
“They are terrorists, plain and simple, and this proscription order makes that clear in UK law.
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The declaration comes shortly after Prigozhin was identified as having died in a plane crash in Russia.
In an attempted mutiny against the nation’s military and President Vladmir Putin, he had assembled troops.
The Central African Republic (CAR), Mali, and Sudan-related activities of the Wagner Group were the targets of a slew of sanctions announced by the UK government in July.
In addition to freezing any assets held and imposing travel restrictions, the sanctions prohibited UK citizens, businesses, and banks from doing business with the group.
