Russia's Wagner Group made headlines last week when the US declared it a transnational criminal organisation — but what is the shadowy private army and what has it done to deserve such a designation?
The paramilitary organisation is widely known to be a proxy for the Russian military and is thought to be financed by Kremlin confidant Yevgeny Prigozhin, a catering magnate nicknamed “Putin’s chef” who has also been hit with US sanctions.
After years of denying any links to the Wagner Group, Mr Prigozhin admitted in September 2022 that he had “founded” the organisation.
It was Moscow’s proclivity for ad hoc policymaking that moulded the group, developed under a shroud of secrecy as Russian President Vladimir Putin sought ways to justify his country's involvement in Ukraine and Syria.
The Wagner Group has been supplying soldiers to aid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, though it has had boots on the ground since 2014, when it aided separatist forces in the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics.
The company is believed to be in command of about 50,000 troops in Ukraine. The US National Security Council estimates that about 80 per cent of its troops were plucked from Russian prisons, having been offered clemency in return for fighting in Ukraine.
By using mercenaries, Mr Putin is able to plead plausible deniability and also fudge the numbers of soldiers killed in battle.
Despite mercenary forces being illegal in Russia, last year, the Wagner Group registered as a company, opening a new headquarters in St Petersburg.
“It is openly recruiting in Russian cities, on billboards, and is being named in Russian media as a patriotic organisation,” Samuel Ramani, of the Rusi think tank, told the BBC.
The Russian Ministry of Defence reportedly supplies the group with military equipment and the Task Force Rusich, which led the 2014 charge in Donbas, is populated by and has ties to neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups, according to the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
In February of last year, Mr Putin justified his invasion of Ukraine as a “denazification”.
In addition to activities in Ukraine, members of the Wagner Group are alleged to have played roles in widespread human rights abuses in parts of Africa.
“Wagner personnel have engaged in an ongoing pattern of serious criminal activity, including mass executions, rape, child abductions and physical abuse in the Central African Republic (CAR) and Mali,” the Treasury Department said in a statement.
UN experts on Tuesday also reported “persistent and alarming accounts” of mass atrocities, torture, summary executions and other brutal crimes allegedly carried out by the organisation, as well as government forces, in Mali.
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
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Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
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Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes.
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Trips on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian cost from US$16,995 (Dh62,414) per person, based on two sharing.
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Favourite quote: “If you’re going through hell, keep going” Winston Churchill
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Favourite place in the UAE: The Stray Dogs Centre in Umm Al Quwain. It sounds predictable, but it honestly is my favourite place to spend time. Surrounded by hundreds of dogs that love you - what could possibly be better than that?
Favourite colour: All the colours that dogs come in
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
