Putin’s FSB security service troops find £38million in van and two buses after raiding Wagner HQ 

Russia’s security service has reportedly found £38million in cash after raiding the Wagner HQ in St Petersburg.

Yevgeny Prigozhin has confirmed that a large amount of money, which was stashed in a van and two buses on the property, was found during the raid by Putin’s FSB troops – and belongs to the mercenary group.  

He provided no detail of how much the stash was worth, but earlier Russian media outlets reported it was around £4billion rubles, or £38million.  

In an audio message on Telegram he explained that the funds are dedicated to covering compensation payments of killed Wagner soldiers. 

‘Wagner has been operating for the past 10 years using only cash – as agreed in our contract. I fully adhere to it,’ he said. 

Russia’s security service (pictured) raided the Wagner Center in St. Petersburg earlier today

The raid comes as Moscow is preparing for war ahead of the expected arrival of Russia’s Wagner militia forces within hours.

A number of restrictions have now been introduced around the Russian capital following a decree from the governor as the Wagner group advances north towards Moscow after seizing a key military base earlier today.

Wagner chief Yevgney Prigozhin initiated a military coup against Putin overnight, which has seen the group take key cities and threaten the President, who called them ‘traitors’.

Putin addressed the Russian people on Saturday, warning that the military leader had ‘stabbed him in the back’, as Moscow enters into a lockdown, with troops digging in in preparation to defend the city. A spokesperson for the Russian president said Putin was still at work in the Kremlin and had not fled Moscow.

Prigozhin and his feared 25,000-strong Wagner militia took control of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don Saturday, saying they are ‘ready to die’ for their ‘march of justice’, and have been heading north in a hundreds-strong convoy of armoured vehicles.