Veronika Prigozhina is a Russian businesswoman and the daughter of Yevgeny Prigozhin, a controversial oligarch and the founder of the Wagner Group, a private military company that has been involved in conflicts in Ukraine, Syria, Libya, and Africa. Veronika Prigozhina is also the nominal owner of some of her father’s assets, which have been targeted by sanctions from the United States and Ukraine for his alleged interference in their elections and his support for pro-Russian separatists.
Early Life and Family
Veronika Prigozhina was born on March 19, 2005, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. She is the youngest child of Yevgeny Prigozhin and his wife Lyubov Valentinovna Prigozhina, a pharmacist. She has two older siblings: Polina Prigozhina, born in 1993, and Pavel Prigozhin, born in 1996. Veronika Prigozhina attended an athletics boarding school until 2017 and then enrolled in a private school in Moscow.
Veronika Prigozhina’s father, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was one of the most influential and secretive figures in Russia. He started his career as a street vendor and a convict before becoming a successful restaurateur and caterer for the Kremlin.
He earned the nickname “Putin’s chef” for hosting dinners for President Vladimir Putin and other high-ranking officials in his restaurants. He also expanded his business empire to include media outlets, oil and gas companies, mining firms, and security firms.
One of his most notorious ventures is the Wagner Group, a private military company that he founded in 2014. The Wagner Group has been accused of carrying out covert operations and mercenary activities on behalf of the Russian government in various countries, such as Ukraine, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Central African Republic, Mozambique, and Madagascar. The Wagner Group has also been linked to human rights violations, war crimes, assassinations, disinformation campaigns, and election meddling.
Veronika Prigozhina’s mother, Lyubov Valentinovna Prigozhina, is a pharmacist who owns several pharmacies in Saint Petersburg. She is also involved in some of her husband’s businesses as a shareholder or a director. She is known to be a loyal and supportive wife who rarely appears in public. She has accompanied her husband on some of his trips abroad, such as to Sudan and Venezuela.
Business Interests and Sanctions
Veronika Prigozhina is the nominal owner of several companies that belong to her father or are affiliated with the Wagner Group. According to a public investigation by the Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF), a Russian opposition organization led by Alexei Navalny, Veronika Prigozhina owns Red Stars LLC, a company that provides security services and training for mercenaries. She also owns shares in Concord Management and Consulting LLC and Concord Catering LLC, two companies that are part of her father’s catering business and have been indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice for their role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election interference.
The ACF claims that Veronika Prigozhina is a front person who participates in the circumvention of the sanctions imposed against Yevgeny Prigozhin and the concealment of his illegally obtained wealth. The ACF also alleges that Veronika Prigozhina lives a lavish lifestyle with expensive cars, jewelry, clothes, and travel.
In February 2023, Veronika Prigozhina was added to the sanctions list by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) for her involvement in the financing of terrorism and undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. The NSDC accused her of being a close associate of her father who supports the Wagner Group’s activities in eastern Ukraine and Crimea.
In June 2023, Veronika Prigozhina was also added to the sanctions list by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for her connection to Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner Group. The OFAC stated that Veronika Prigozhina holds assets on behalf of her father who continues to evade U.S. sanctions and advance the Kremlin’s malign agenda around the world.
As a result of the sanctions, Veronika Prigozhina’s assets and properties in Ukraine and the U.S. have been frozen and she is prohibited from entering or doing business with these countries. She is also subject to similar restrictions in other countries that have imposed sanctions on her father and the Wagner Group, such as the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.
Personal Life and Controversies
Veronika Prigozhina has been involved in several controversies and scandals due to her association with her father and the Wagner Group. In 2021, she was sued by a former employee of Red Stars LLC who claimed that he was mistreated and exploited by the company. He alleged that he was sent to Libya as a mercenary without proper training or equipment and that he was not paid his salary or compensation for his injuries. He also accused Veronika Prigozhina of being the ultimate beneficiary of the company and demanded $10 million in damages.
In 2022, she was accused of being behind a cyberattack on the website of the ACF, which exposed her father’s assets and activities. The ACF claimed that Veronika Prigozhina hired hackers to launch a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on their website to prevent the public from accessing their investigation. The ACF also alleged that Veronika Prigozhina threatened and harassed some of the journalists and activists who were involved in the investigation.
In 2023, she was involved in a car accident that killed two pedestrians in Moscow. She was driving a Lamborghini Huracan at high speed when she lost control and hit two people who were crossing the street. She fled the scene without calling for help or reporting the incident. She was later arrested and charged with manslaughter, hit-and-run, and driving under the influence of alcohol. She pleaded not guilty and claimed that she was not driving the car but was kidnapped by unknown assailants who forced her to drink alcohol and then crashed the car.
