Wagner, the Russian mercenary group, is set to be proscribed as a terrorist group by the UK government – meaning it will be illegal to be a member or support the organisation.
A draft order to be laid in Parliament will allow its assets to be categorised as terrorist property and seized.
The home secretary said Wagner was “violent and destructive… a military tool of Vladimir Putin’s Russia”.
She said its work in Ukraine and Africa were a “threat to global security”.
Suella Braverman added: “Wagner’s continuing destabilising activities only continue to serve the Kremlin’s political goals.”
“They are terrorists, plain and simple – and this proscription order makes that clear in UK law.”
Wagner had played a key role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as operating in countries in Africa including Syria, Libya and Mali.
Its future was thrown into uncertainty after its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin staged a failed coup against Russia’s military leader.
- What is Russia’s Wagner mercenary group?
Russian officials said Prigozhin, who founded the group in 2014, died in a plane crash on 23 August.
The group’s name will now be added alongside organisations such as Hamas and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
The Terrorism Act 2000 gives the home secretary the power to proscribe an organisation if they believe it is concerned in terrorism
The proscription order will make it a criminal offence to support the group – including by arranging a meeting aimed at furthering the organisation’s activities.
Committing a proscription offence could lead to 14 years in prison or a fine of up to £5,000.