The official statement also mentioned that the Wagner group is infamous for looting and “barbarous murders” across Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa.

London: The United Kingdom has officially proscribed the Russian mercenary Wagner Group as a terrorist organization on Friday. The move comes after order was laid in parliament and backed on September 6 by lawmakers, which will make it illegal to be a member or to support it. “This order comes into force with immediate effect and will make belonging to the Wagner Group or actively supporting the group in the UK a criminal offence, with a potential jail sentence of 14 years which can be handed down alongside or in place of a fine,” the UK government said Friday in a press release.

The release added that the Wagner group has now been added to the list of proscribed organisations in the UK, alongside 78 organisations. The official statement also mentioned that the Wagner group is infamous for looting and “barbarous murders” across Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa.

Notably, Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was confirmed dead by Russian investigators on August 27. He was among the 10 people killed when their plane crashed on August 2.  The crash between Moscow and St. Petersburg happened two months after Prigozhin led his fighters in a brief mutiny against Russia’s military leadership.

Prigozhin, whose fighters secured “rare victories” for the Kremlin on the battlefield, had railed against the country’s military brass over their handling of the Ukraine war, according to CNN. Prigozhin was a former close aide of Russian President Vladimir Putin until he initiated a rebellion in June 2023. Prigozhin controlled a network of companies including the Wagner private military group.