Prigozhin's son earns more than $400 million per year in Africa.
28-year-old Pavlo Prigozhin has expanded the activities of the former Wagner PMC in the Central African Republic. According to estimates, the income of his companies exceeds 400 million dollars per year. Mercenaries control gold mining sites, protect the president of the CAR, and fight against rebels.
28-year-old Pavel Prigozhin, the son of the deceased founder of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has maintained and expanded the business of the former military structure in the Central African Republic.
According to estimates from the Geneva-based organization Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, the income of businesses linked to Pavel Prigozhin exceeds 400 million dollars per year. The mercenaries under his command control gold mining sites, protect the President of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, and fight against rebels.
In addition, structures linked to the former Wagner PMC are involved in the trade of weapons and drugs, as well as in spreading anti-Western propaganda in local media. According to investigators, Prigozhin has expanded gold mining at the country's largest mine and has arranged for the export of the precious metal, circumventing international control.
According to information from The Wall Street Journal, three shipments of gold have been sent to Belarus in the past three months. Investigative journalist Lou Osborn of the Swiss organization Inpact believes that the former military structure is gradually transforming into a criminal network. In his opinion, the Kremlin allowed Prigozhin to continue his activities because he no longer poses a threat to Russian authorities.