The UK government is set to label the Wagner Group, the Russian mercenary outfit previously led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, as a terrorist organisation.
The BBC reports that a draft order is to be laid in parliament that will allow the group’s assets to be categorised as terrorist property and seized.
According to the report, Suella Braverman, the home secretary, said Wagner is “violent and destructive… a military tool of Vladimir Putin’s Russia” and is a “threat to global security” due to its work in Ukraine and Africa.
“Wagner’s continuing destabilising activities only continue to serve the Kremlin’s political goals,” BBC quoted Braverman as saying.
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“They are terrorists, plain and simple — and this proscription order makes that clear in UK law.”
The announcement comes a few weeks after Prigozhin was declared dead in a plane crash in Russia.
The Wagner leader had mobilised his troops in a failed mutiny against the country’s military and President Vladmir Putin.
Putin described the mutiny as a “stab in the back” and vowed that anyone involved would face consequences.
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In July, the UK government announced a slew of sanctions against individuals and businesses involved with the Wagner Group in Mali, Central African Republic (CAR) and Sudan.
The sanctions limited their financial freedom by preventing UK citizens, companies and banks from dealing with the group, alongside freezing any assets held and imposing travel bans.
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