News Investigators/ Founder of the Russian’s Mercenary Group, Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin was on board the passenger plane which crashed in Russia, killing all 10 on board.
Mr. Prigozhin’s name was on the list of passagers of the ill-fated plane that crashed, Wednesday.
Unconfirmed media reports said a Wagner-linked Telegram channel Grey Zone ealier reported that the jet was shot down by air defences in Tver region, north of Moscow.
Mr. Prigozhin led a failed mutiny against the Russian armed forces in June after he accused the Russian military commanders of deliberately endangering his troops that are fighting in Ukraine.
Mr. Prigozhin was a Russian oligarch and head of Wagner mercenary.
He was former close confidant of Russian president Vladimir Putin until the rebellion in June 2023 this year.
He was sometimes called “Putin’s chef”, as he owned restaurants and catering companies that provide services for the Kremlin.
Once a convict in the Soviet Union, Mr. Prigozhin controlled a network of influential companies, notably the Wagner private military company, which was supported by the Russian state, as well as three companies accused of interference in the 2016 and 2018 US elections.
He led his troops on a short-lived mutiny in June, after they seized control of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and moved towards Moscow, with the stated aim of removing the military leadership.
However, Prigozhin stopped the advance after negotiations with the Kremlin, which were mediated by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
Under a deal to end the mutiny, charges against Mr Prigozhin were dropped and he was offered a move to Belarus.
He has kept a low profile since then, although a video released a few days ago suggested he was in an African country.
