A short thread on Yevgeniy Prigozhin (Of Internet Research Agency/PMC Wagner notoriety) and COVID-19 grifting in Russia, Sudan and Syria:
1/
Prigozhin-associated enterprises have taken advantage of the COVID-19 crisis to make a buck in Russia and to advertise a humanitarian mission in North Africa and the Middle East.
2/
More interesting is what these enterprises are doing abroad. In April, Sudanese media reported that Meroe Gold promised to deliver COVID aid including PPE to Sudan.
4/
Meroe Gold and Mikhail Potepkin (quoted in the SUNA article referenced above) were sanctioned by the US Treasury this week for their role in helping Prigozhin evade sanctions: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm1058

5/">https://home.treasury.gov/news/pres...
In Syria, Evro Polis representative Ildar Zaripov appeared at an April press conference with the Russian Ambassador and Syria& #39;s Deputy Minister of Health, announcing the delivery of Russian COVID aid to Syria. Zaripov is the guy on the right:
6/
In either case, it& #39;s interesting to see how Prigozhin& #39;s enterprises have moved to exploit the COVID outbreak on multiple fronts — for political goodwill and for personal enrichment.
On methodology: @IsaacZukin found this case in Sudan and @kwnazemi found this reporting in Syria. Exemplifies how important it is to leverage Russian, English and Arabic language when researching these networks (not to mention French!)
You can follow @Jack_Mrgln.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled: