Pavel Prigozhin, the son of late Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, is reported to run a business network worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year from the Central African Republic. Researchers say it spans gold, arms, a mercenary force and the local drug trade.
When Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a private jet crash in August 2023, many assumed Wagner’s African operations would fall apart without him. According to investigators and researchers, the opposite happened. His son Pavel, then only 25, is reported to have held on to the group’s operations in the Central African Republic (CAR) and expanded them.
Pavel is now 28. Researchers say he oversees a network that mixes legal and criminal business and is worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year, with about 500 mercenaries operating from the CAR capital, Bangui. The account draws on reporting attributed to a leading US newspaper and on the findings of several research groups. These are claims from outside investigators, and Vedax Digital has not independently verified them.
How big is the business?
The Geneva-based Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime estimates that the family business, including both legal and criminal activities, earns more than $400 million a year.
According to the reporting, the network includes:
- gold mining and mineral sales,
- arms trading,
- a mercenary force of roughly 500 fighters,
- drinks brands,
- a share of the local drug market.
From the jet crash to Bangui
Yevgeny Prigozhin built Wagner into a powerful force that fought in Ukraine and worked across several African countries. In June 2023, his fighters entered the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and threatened to march on Moscow, accusing military officials of failing to supply enough ammunition and support in Ukraine. He called off the rebellion after reaching an agreement. Two months later, his private jet crashed, killing him, Wagner’s top military commander and eight others.
The Kremlin then took over Wagner’s businesses inside Russia. It also created the Africa Corps to bring the group’s African operations under the Russian Defence Ministry and military intelligence.
Researchers and security officials say Pavel then travelled to Bangui. There he met Dmitry Sytii, described as a former confidant of his father, and Denis Suprunov, Wagner’s local military commander. He also held talks with senior government officials, according to those sources. He is reported to have helped bring Wagner mercenaries into the country’s police, army and intelligence services.
A succession planned early
Pavel’s rise did not come out of nowhere. According to the Anti-Corruption Foundation, a non-profit linked to the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, he was known from a young age for a lavish lifestyle. Social media photos showed him on private jets and on the family’s luxury yacht.
Researchers say Yevgeny put Pavel in charge of the family’s luxury villas and apartment buildings when he turned 20. The investigative group All Eyes on Wagner reports that Yevgeny saw his son as his successor.
The father also worked on Pavel’s public image as a patriot. Social media posts showed him fighting in Syria’s civil war, where he reportedly received Wagner’s Black Cross for bravery. He later served as an intelligence officer and drone operator in Ukraine. In 2022, six months after the full-scale invasion, Yevgeny publicly said his son was already taking part in the war.
Wagner’s African footprint
Wagner’s reach across Africa went well beyond one country, according to several sources:
| Country | Reported activity |
|---|---|
| Mali | Fighters deployed to protect the military government for $10 million a month, per the Pentagon-funded Africa Center for Strategic Studies |
| Libya | Men secured oil wells in rebel-controlled areas |
| Sudan | Supplied surface-to-air missiles to the Rapid Support Forces in exchange for gold |
| Central African Republic | Took control of mines and sold minerals, with proceeds shared between the group and the government |
The CAR became one of the group’s most profitable operations. Justyna Gudzowska, executive director of the Washington-based investigative group The Sentry, said Bangui fought harder than any other capital to keep the arrangement of regime protection in return for minerals, because it had worked so well. Her colleague, senior researcher Nathalia Dukhan, said Pavel has followed in his father’s footsteps with ease in the country.
Vodka, beer and prescription opioids
The report also describes Wagner moving into consumer goods. It sells a vodka called Wa Wa Wa, which means “Fire and Fire,” and a beer called Africa Ti L’Or, which means “Africa is Gold.”
The group also controls much of the local market for tramadol, a prescription opioid, according to the report.
From military force to criminal network?
Lou Osborn, an investigator with the Switzerland-based non-profit Inpact, which tracks Wagner’s activities in Africa, offered a blunt assessment. In his view, the group has changed from a powerful special-forces unit into a disowned network that appears to be sliding into organised crime.
What remains unclear?
Several questions are still open. Most of the figures are estimates from outside researchers, not audited numbers. The Kremlin’s role is also unclear: it took over Wagner’s Russian businesses and created the Africa Corps, yet the reporting suggests Pavel retains influence over the CAR operations. How the two relate has not been publicly
explained.
FAQ
Who is Pavel Prigozhin?
- He is the 28-year-old son of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the late founder of the Wagner Group. Researchers say he took over parts of the family’s business network after his father’s death in August 2023.
How much money does the network make?
- The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime estimates that the family business, including legal and criminal activities, earns more than $400 million a year.
How many mercenaries does he reportedly oversee?
- Around 500, operating from Bangui in the Central African Republic.
What happened to Yevgeny Prigozhin?
- He died in a private jet crash in Russia in August 2023, two months after leading a short-lived rebellion against President Vladimir Putin. The crash also killed Wagner’s top military commander and eight others.
What is the Africa Corps?
- A force created after Prigozhin’s death to bring Wagner’s African operations under the Russian Defence Ministry and military intelligence.
