Prigozhin’s plane crash: his personal pilot Artem Stepanov is the first suspect in the Russian investigation

A strange investigation conducted by the Russian authorities into the crash of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plane. They promptly indicated that they were working on the terms of the accident that resulted in the death of the leader of the Wagner militia and nine other passengers, including several leaders of the paramilitary group … and nothing since. But, therefore, in a plane crash that could have killed the leader of the Wagner group, there would already be a first suspect, and that would be his own “personal pilot,” Russian Telegram accounts known to be close to the security services said on Thursday. .

While Vladimir Putin offered his condolences, talking about the past of this disastrous former ally, working in Africa and Ukraine, but turned his people against Moscow in June, the Russian investigation seems to be a distraction. The Kremlin, which categorically denies any involvement. “He was a man with a difficult fate, who made serious mistakes in his life, but achieved the necessary results,” “Tsar” Putin said during a televised meeting, expressing “Sincere condolences” to the relatives of the victims … Condolences sound like a warning.

Suspected Artem Stepanov, who has already been sanctioned by the United States because of his ties to Prigozhin, is under investigation on suspicion of his involvement in the plane crash, according to the Sirena Telegram channel and the Baza channel, which is associated with Russian special services. and the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel, which also has close ties to the Russian security forces. According to the Russian news agency MKRU, Stepanov filed a lawsuit against the US and the Treasury Department when he was sanctioned, claiming he had not seen Prigozhin for 10 years. Artyom Stepanov’s name is mentioned as a suspect mainly because he owns the company that owned Prigozhin’s plane.

Radio silence by the Russian authorities

According to a Baza report shared with Newsweek, investigators believe Stepanov may have gained access to Prigozhin’s private jet the day before he left Moscow. The nominal owner of the MNT Aero company, which owned the device, Olga Gubareva is also on vacation in the Caucasus and does not answer phone calls, the VChK-OGPU channel adds. Stepanov’s partner Kirill Shcherbakov is also unavailable and, according to the same sources, has not come to work in Moscow for several days.

According to the Vystrel telegram channel, citing a security source, the investigation is studying the version according to which an explosive device was planted in the aircraft chassis…

In this Telegram channel, several sources claim that Stepanov’s brother claimed that the private pilot was vacationing in Kamchatka, a peninsula in the Russian Far East famous for the game “Risk”. However, the pilot appears to have already been in contact with Russian investigators, as his brother reportedly stated “that he has already been contacted by those who need him.” Of course, none of these versions has been officially confirmed by the Russian authorities. The investigation continues…