Wagner chief's criminal charges not dropped yet, punishable by 12 to 20 years in prison

Criminal charges against Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Wagner group, have not been dropped yet, Russian news agencies reported on Monday. The Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia is currently investigating the alleged events of an armed mutiny. 

The FSB initiated charges against Prigozhin on Friday, accusing him of inciting an armed uprising and declaring his intent to overthrow the military leadership of Russia. Following his statement, Prigozhin's mercenary fighters reportedly seized control of a Defense Ministry headquarters in Rostov-on-Don and swiftly advanced towards Moscow. 

Charges are punishable by 12 to 20 years in prison.

However, following a mediation by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Yevgeny Prigozhin agreed to cease his rebellion and go into exile in neighboring Belarus. 

The Kremlin agreed to drop the charges of "armed mutiny" as part of the deal. However, an anonymous law enforcement official informed Kommersant business daily that the investigation into Prigozhin's revolt is still ongoing. The source emphasized that it was premature to reach a decision about the investigation's future, as “insufficient time has elapsed.” Similar reports were later published by the state-run RIA Novosti and Interfax news agencies, as reported by Moscow Times.

Russian authorities have not issued an official statement about the reports, and the claims made by the anonymous sources could not be immediately verified.

Wagner chief was last seen on Saturday

Last seen on Saturday night smiling and high-fiving bystanders from the back of an SUV as he withdrew from a city occupied by his men, Prigozhin said his fighters had halted their campaign in order to avert bloodshed.

"We went as a demonstration of protest, not to overthrow the government of the country," Prigozhin said in the audio message.

He made no direct reference to his own whereabouts, nor provided further details of the mysterious agreement that had brought a halt to his mutiny.

On Saturday Prigozhin had said he was leaving for Belarus under a deal brokered by its president, Alexander Lukashenko. In Monday's remarks he said Lukashenko had offered to let Wagner operate under a legal framework, but did not elaborate.