A private jet “Gulfstream G550”, which is thought to be used by Yevgeny Prigozhin – Vladimir Putin’s close friend and renowned chef as well as the owner of Wagner Group mercenary company – landed with no passengers in UK’s Luton airport on Saturday after apparently flying in from Dubai.
The private jet, according to The Times, regularly flies to Benghazi in Libya, where Khalifa Haftar, a warlord supported by Russia, is based.
However, Falcon Wings, a VIP airline, told The Times: ‘There is definitely no connection between the plane and this Russian businessman.’
The jet is registered in the tiny Dutch Caribbean territory of Aruba.
Wagner owner’s private jet had been managed by Sonnig International Private Jets, which has a base in Libya’s Benghazi, and the company says it takes pride in flying to “difficult destinations, hot spots and conflict zones around the world”.
The company has offices in the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland and a base in Benghazi, where Russia and Wagner Group’s ally, Haftar, is based.
Prigozhin was sanctioned by the UK in 2020 because of activities that undermined the peace process in Libya.
The UK sanctions list says he is “a Russian businessman with close links, including financially, to the private military company Wagner Group”.
It adds: “Prigozhin is engaged in and providing support for Wagner Group’s activities in Libya, which threaten the country’s peace, stability and security. In particular, Wagner Group is involved in multiple and repeated breaches of the arms embargo in Libya including delivery of arms as well as deployment of mercenaries into Libya”.
The European Union’s recent sanctions listing for the Wagner Group describes it as “a Russia-based unincorporated private military entity, which was established in 2014. It is led by Dimitriy Utkin and financed by Yevgeny Prigozhin.
“The Wagner Group is responsible for serious human rights abuses in Ukraine, Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic (CAR), Sudan and Mozambique, which include torture and extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings.” The EU sanctions’ list says.
Source: The Times
