UK considers regulations after Wagner head sued journalist

• UK granted him licenses so he could bypass sanctions and cover his legal costs.
• Case was dismissed when he admitted connections to infamous private army, Wagner.
• UK granted him special licenses so he could bypass penalties and cover his legal costs.

The method that permitted the leader of Russia’s Wagner organization to circumvent UK sanctions and sue a UK journalist is being reevaluated by the Treasury.

Late in 2021, Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose Wagner mercenaries are fighting for Russia in Ukraine, took action against investigative journalist Eliot Higgins.

According to an independent media outlet, the UK granted him special licenses so he could bypass penalties and cover his legal costs.

When he acknowledged his connections to the infamous private army, the case was dismissed.

The UK first sanctioned Mr. Prigozhin in 2020 in an effort to forbid anyone from doing business with him.

However, clauses in a UK law outlining the Russian sanction regime permit anyone under sanctions to take care of their “basic needs,” which includes being able to apply for a license to pay for legal bills.

The Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation, a division of the Treasury, makes decisions after reviewing applications from those subject to financial restrictions.

According to an independent media outlet, a UK human rights website, Mr. Prigozhin successfully used this method to obtain the assistance of Discreet Law, a London-based law firm, in order to bring legal action against Mr. Higgins.

Treasury minister James Cartlidge told MPs on Wednesday that the guidance for these exemptions was “longstanding” – but said the government “is now considering whether this approach is the right one and if changes can be made”.

A Treasury spokesman also said these applications are reviewed by officials with no political involvement – with Mr. Cartlidge later telling the Commons “we are not aware of any decision being taken by a minister”.

A story on Mr. Higgins’s website Bellingcat had only been published a short time before to the legal action, identifying tycoon Mr. Prigozhin, a supporter of Vladimir Putin, as the person behind the Wagner Group.

Despite having already received a punishment from the UK government for the group’s actions in Libya in October 2020, he didn’t admit to being involved until after the invasion started in February 2022.

Because the writer tweeted news from his publication and other channels, he was personally sued in the UK. In his opinion, the choice to focus on him rather than Bellingcat was made with the intention of intimidating.

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