Inside the shady world of the mercenary Wagner Group with ties to Putin

An exiled Russian businessman has given MPs an insight into the world of the private military company known as the Wagner Group.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russia's former wealthiest man and now in exile in London, spoke to a committee of MPs about how the Wagner Group's ambiguous legal status has allowed the group to operate with impunity.

Accused of committing war crimes, the group – made up of a network of mercenaries accused of doing Putin's dirty work – is not part of the regular armed forces of Russia and, since private military organisations are illegal in Russia, they do not have legal status on Russian territory.

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According to Mr Khodorkovsky that is precisely why the Wagner Group has been allowed to act outside of the law. 

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The Wagner Group is a private Russian military organisation that has been active in Syria, Libya and Sudan, as well as Ukraine since the war broke out in the east of the country in 2014.

Opposition groups believe that if Russia loses the war, Putin will seek to blame all war crimes in Ukraine on the Wagner Group and attempt to prosecute them in Russia. 

Mr Khodorkovsky also said that "loyalty" is at the core of Putin's support for the paramilitary group. 

The Wagner Group is headed by Yevgeny Prigozhin who has close ties to President Putin.

According to Mr Khodorkovsky, Prigozhin is as influential as Russia's Minister of Defence Sergei Shoigu or Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. 

While international pressure to discredit the Wagner Group as a terrorist group has been rising, so has its power and influence within Russia. 

Last week, an official centre for the Wagner Group was unveiled in St Petersburg.

According to the group's website, the high-rise office building will host inventors, experts, experimental manufacturers and start-ups. 

The website post also stated: "The mission of PMC Wagner Center is to provide a comfortable environment for the generation of new ideas in order to increase the defence capability of Russia, including in the sphere of information.

"PMC Wagner Center is waiting for proposals and ideas to improve the defence and development of Russia," it said.