Russians scrambled to banks after Wagner mercenary group’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin launched an offensive against Moscow’s military leadership last month. A total of 100 billion rubles (approximately $1.1 billion) were withdrawn from the banks during the three-day period between June 23-June 25 weekend when Wagner forces were moving towards Moscow.
Russia’s Central Bank’s monthly monetary policy report released earlier this week said that 100 billion rubles were taken out on June 23-25, The Moscow Times reported.
On June 25, 2023, the armed uprising by Russia’s Wagner mercenary group ended as dramatically as it began after a Belarus-brokered peace deal simmered down the clash between the mercenary group and the Russian state.
According to the Russian business news outlet RBC, the cash withdrawal during the Wagner’s mutiny hours “was the most noticeable surge in demand for cash” since September 2021, when Moscow began mobilising its forces around Ukraine before its imminent offensive in February 2023.
Wagner mutiny and war in Ukraine: How much money was withdrawn in June?
Russia’s Central Bank’s figures cited by the Newsweek reported that 500 billion rubles (about $5.5 billion) were withdrawn from the Russian banks during the entire month of June. A fifth of these withdrawals reportedly took place during the June 23-25 timeline.
Wagner’s support with Vladimir Putin: The Kremlin statements
Last month, shortly after the Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was seen leaving the city of Rostov-on-Don, he reportedly met Vladimir Putin.
Prigozhin was among 35 Wagner commanders invited to the meeting in Moscow, the Kremlin said. According to the spokesman, Prigozhin told Putin that Wagner unconditionally supported him.
Also watch | Top Russian general knew about Wagner rebellion plan: report
Despite a dramatic resolution to the Wagner-Russian state clash, the events of June 24-June 26 weekend have been described as the most serious challenge yet to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority in and beyond Moscow’s corridors of power.
It remains unclear if Prigozhin is still in Russia or not.
As part of the peace deal announced on June 26, Prigozhin was supposed to go to Belarus, and the fighters who rebelled with him were given the amnesty for their “service at the front.”
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