Wigs, gold bars and alligators: Inside Wagner boss’s mansion
A raid by Russian security services has revealed the colourful inside of mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s St Petersburg lavish mansion.
A wardrobe stuffed full of wigs, gold bars and a stuffed alligator were among the many bizarre finds in photos and footage published by pro-Kremlin media outlet Izvestia.
Officials are also said to have found assault weapons, ammunition and even a photograph allegedly showing the severed heads of the Wagner leader’s enemies.
Officials are said to have found assault weapons with ammunition during the raid
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A wardrobe full of wigs were also uncovered, with colours ranging from grey to a mousy brown
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A lengthy indoor swimming pool complete with a bathing area, slides and even a jacuzzi can also be seen in the photographs, with the rooms lit up with what appear to be glass chandeliers.
Elsewhere, the contents of a wardrobe show an array of wigs with colours ranging from grey to a mousy brown, with photos purportedly showing the Wagner chief wearing them as a disguise leaked to state-backed Russian Telegram channels, MailOnline reports.
In a programme called “60 Minutes”, broadcast on Wednesday evening on state Rossiya-1 TV channel, journalist Eduard Petrov claimed that cash worth 600 million roubles (£5m) had been found in the Wagner chief’s properties.
Prigozhin has previously said that Wagner only dealt in cash, with Russian president Vladimir Putin adding that the group was financed by the state.
The programme also depicted multiple passports which Prigozhin had used under different names.
The mansion includes a lengthy indoor swimming pool complete with a bathing area, slides and even a jacuzzi
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Glass chandeliers are seen throughout the Wagner boss’s mansion
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An indoor swimming pool is pictured following a raid on Yevgeny Prigozhin’s St Petersburg mansion
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“A normal person can’t have so many passports”, Petrov said. “Why did this person have such strange powers like the serious leader of some kind of criminal group.”
On Thursday, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko said that Prigozhin was no longer in Belarus, having brokered a deal last month to end an armed mutiny in Russia. His Wagner troops have remained at the camps they stayed in before an attempted mutiny against Moscow.
“As for Prigozhin, he’s in St Petersburg. He is not on the territory of Belarus”, Lukashenko told reporters, having said last week that Prigozhin was still in Belarus.
Photos of the Wagner chief wearing the wigs as a disguise were leaked to state-backed Russian Telegram channels
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Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has said that Prigozhin is no longer in Belarus
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Prigozhin took control of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on 24 June
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Prigozhin took control of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on 24 June, seized the command centre there where Russia coordinates its war in Ukraine, and sent a column of fighters towards Moscow before standing down after striking a deal with the Kremlin.
The agreement was meant to see Prigozhin relocate to Belarus and in exchange, criminal charges against him dropped.
However, Mr Petrov stated during Wednesday evening’s broadcast that “Nobody planned to close this case. The investigation is ongoing.”
