November 2022, Wagner Mercenary Group Opens Tech Center in St. Petersburg

“The PMC Wagner Center is a complex of buildings where developers, designers, IT specialists, experimental industry and start-ups can be housed,” Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner group, said a press release last week. "If the project shows its success and relevance, we will consider opening more branches." The new building in the east of St. Petersburg has “Wagner” emblazoned on its revolving glass doors and above the main entrance. While Prigozhin did not appear at the opening Friday, dozens of men wearing military uniform were in attendance.

July 2021, Documents Reveal Erik Prince's $10 Billion Plan to Make Weapons and Create a Private Army in Ukraine

On the second night of his visit to Kyiv, Erik Prince had a dinner date on his agenda. A few of his Ukrainian associates had arranged to meet the American billionaire at the Vodka Grill that evening, Feb. 23, 2020. The choice of venue seemed unusual. The Vodka Grill, a since-defunct nightclub next to a KFC franchise in a rough part of town, rarely saw patrons as powerful as Prince.

As the party got seated inside a private karaoke room on the second floor, Igor Novikov, who was then a top adviser to Ukraine’s President, remembers feeling a little nervous. He had done some reading about Blackwater, the private military company Prince had founded in 1997, and he knew about the massacre its troops had perpetrated during the U.S. war in Iraq. Coming face to face that night with the world’s most prominent soldier of fortune, Novikov remembers thinking: “What does this guy want from us?”

April 2020,  Erik Prince offered lethal services to sanctioned Russian mercenary firm Wagner

Prince, who is the brother of Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, met earlier this year with a top official of Russia’s Wagner Group and offered his mercenary forces to support the firm’s operations in Libya and Mozambique, according to two people familiar with Prince’s offer.

Wagner officials said they are not interested in working with Prince, three people familiar with their decision told The Intercept.

A lawyer for Prince denied that his client met anyone from Wagner.

2002, America's For-Profit Secret Army

''We don't want to risk getting contracts by being called mercenaries,'' said Doug Brooks, president of the association. ''But we can do things on short notice and keep our mouths shut.''