Former Wagner mercenary detained on conspiracy to murder charges

Law enforcement agents in St. Petersburg have detained a pardoned convict and former Wagner Group mercenary on conspiracy to murder charges, local news sources 47news and Mash on Moika reported on Friday.

Alexander Tyutin, 65, who used to run the Troitsky Most real estate agency, was sentenced to 23 years in prison in 2021 for organising the murders of his own niece, his business partner Dmitry Zeynalov and Zeynalov’s family, including two children. The Wagner Group secured Tyutin’s release from jail last year after it contracted him to fight in Ukraine.

According to 47news, Tyutin and his wife left Russia for Turkey once he was pardoned for his service at the front. A year later Tyutin returned to St. Petersburg where, according to a source who spoke to 47news, he attempted to order a hit on a fellow former Wagner fighter living in Turkey who had become his wife’s lover. Tyutin has confessed to the charges, 47News reported.

In January the Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin publicly praised Tyutin for his efforts fighting at the front, saying that he was “All in all, a great guy”.