Image Makeover: Most notorious military mercenary Wagner Group registers as ‘management consultancy’

Moscow: The Wagner Group – a paramilitary organisation having close links with the Kremlin – has registered itself as a ‘management consultancy’ in the latest bid to normalise its image following its role in the Ukraine war. With the registration, the group has become a legal entity for the first time since its inception. In recent months, the group has emerged as a critical recruiter openly employing ex-convicts for the Ukraine war in its army. Last year, Yevgeny Prighozin, who is often called ‘Putin’s chef’, formally acknowledged founding and funding the Wagner Group. According to a report by The Telegraph, Wagner fighters have helped Russia achieve territorial gains in Ukraine after the Russian army suffered defeats in southern and eastern Ukraine. Details of ‘Wagner Company’ BBC Russian Service, citing a corporate registry, said ChVK Wagner Centre has officially been registered as a company in Moscow. Its “core activity” is “management consultancy” accompanied by various business endeavours like book publishing and aircraft leasing. While the owner of “Wagner Company” has not been mentioned, the company’s director is an executive at the Russian state-controlled arms dealer Kalashnikov. The group will also get a new office and the tower will be called “Wagner Centre”. The move has raised questions about the strengthening power of Wagner. What is the Wagner group? According to a report by BBC, the Wagner Group was founded Dmitri Utkin, who is a veteran of the Chechen wars, a former special forces officer and a lieutenant colonel with Russia’s military intelligence service, GRU. The first time Wagner came to the surface was in 2014, during Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Kremlin has repeatedly denied allegations of the group’s apparent link with President Putin. The Wagner Group has been found to be active in countries like Syria and Libya since 2015 and 2016, respectively. In 2017, the group was invited to guard the diamond mines by the Central African Republic. Friendly fire destroys Wagner tank Reports suggest that Russia accidentally blew up a tank of Wagner mercenaries in friendly fire on Tuesday. In an intercepted call between a Russian soldier and his father, the soldier was heard saying, “We were shooting at them. We blew up their tank and [an armoured vehicle] before we realised it was our guys.” The soldier also claimed that several Wagner had sustained heavy causalities in Ukraine but the Russian defence ministry is “not even counting them”. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .