A sanctioned Russian warlord accused of human rights abuses around the world was able to pass UK anti-money laundering checks by submitting a utility bill in the name of his 81-year-old mother.
Leaked emails seen by the Financial Times show that London-based law firm Discreet Law in 2021 requested identification documents from Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner mercenary group, as part of anti-money laundering checks, before taking him on as a client.
At the time the Wagner boss, whose fighters have been accused of crimes including mass executions and rape, was under sanctions by the US, EU, UK and had been placed on the FBI’s most wanted list of international fugitives.