The Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary outfit previously led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, is set to be designated as a terrorist organisation by the UK government.
According to the BBC, a draught order will be laid before parliament that will allow the group’s assets to be classified as terrorist property and seized.
According to the report, Wagner is “violent and destructive… a military tool of Vladimir Putin’s Russia” and a “threat to global security” because of its work in Ukraine and Africa.
“Wagner’s continuing destabilising activities only continue to serve the Kremlin’s political goals,” BBC quoted Braverman as saying.
“They are terrorists, plain and simple — and this proscription order makes that clear in UK law.”
The announcement comes just a few weeks after Prigozhin was declared dead in a Russian plane crash.
The Wagner leader had led a failed mutiny against the country’s military and President Vladmir Putin.
Putin called the mutiny a “stab in the back” and promised that anyone involved would face repercussions.
The UK government announced a slew of sanctions in July against individuals and companies associated with the Wagner Group in Mali, the Central African Republic (CAR), and Sudan.
The sanctions restricted their financial freedom by prohibiting UK citizens, businesses, and banks from doing business with the group, as well as freezing any assets held and imposing travel bans.
