Denis Pavlov, the man in Bangui

When the SVR takes over

An investigation in collaboration with Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty

From mercenaries to the SVR: capturing the juicy Central African cake

Since the arrival of the Wagner group in the Central African Republic, one of its missions has been to train and support personnel from the military, police and gendarmerie forces in the country. This training display has been embodied by Alexander Ivanov, the head of the Community of Officers for International Security in charge of the famous Russian instructors.

Training of CAR police forces at the Kassai shooting range by Russian instructors; photo posted on social networks on 11/23/2023.

Beyond training services, the Wagner Group has been well established in the country’s security ecosystem. According to several sources, its executives enter and leave police offices as if they were their homes, occupy offices and barracks and are accused of violence against armed forces and police forces. They also lead and participate in the operations of the Central African Armed Forces but also the country’s Internal Security Forces. In Bangui, we knew until now the former legionnaire Vitali Perfilev , responsible for the operations of the Wagner group and security adviser to President Touadéra. According to Jeune Afrique , Perfilev met very regularly with the police chief, Bienvenu Zokoue, at his office at Camp Roux or at the police headquarters. Another figure part of Perfilev’s networks is Henri Wanzet-Linguissara , head of intelligence at the presidency and with whom the Wagner group has been in dialogue and working closely since their arrival in CAR.

Photo dated of August 2021 during the graduation ceremony of 652 police students from the 20th class: Vitali Perfilev close to the National Police General Director Bienvenu Zokoué (source: Facebook )

Photo dated of October 2022 during the official launch of the activities of the Association of Central African Police Widows. In the foreground, the National Police General Director  Bienvenu Zokoué. Behind him, Vitali Perfilev and Dimitri Sytyi (source: Facebook )

Photos dated of October 2023 for the Flag Presentation Ceremony to new recruits of the gendarmerie chaired by Division General, Landry Ulrich Dépôt, the National Gendarmerie General Director, here alongside Vitali Perfilev (source: Facebook )

But since the mutiny and the death of Evgeny Prigojine, the historical leaders of the Wagner group have been in the hot seat in the Central African Republic. And the partnership with law enforcement seems to be changing hands. Vitali Perfilev on the way out? Bangui’s new man is Denis Vladimirovich Pavlov. Having just landed in the CAR in September 2023, the man presents himself as a diplomat stationed at the Russian Embassy in CAR. His real mission would be to take over the security partnership with the General Directorate of the Central African National Police. However, according to diplomatic and security sources from different European countries, Denis Pavlov is in reality an intelligence officer belonging to the SVR , the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation (Служба внешней разведки Российской Феде рации) under diplomatic cover. Based on our information, his arrival would have been announced by a letter from the head of the SVR, Sergei Naryshkin. Wagner’s activities in CAR remain juicy and would have cost the CAR government nearly half a billion euros to pay for Prigojine’s paramilitary group since 2017. The Russian intelligence services are now taking Central African affairs in hand .

Wagner is dead, long live Wagner!

According to the Daily Beast, Vladimir Putin had directly reassured his counterpart, President Touadéra, of the continuity of the Wagner group’s missions following the mutiny of its leader at the end of June 2023. But the Russian president nevertheless intended to change the leaders stationed in the country. It all starts at the end of July 2023 at the Russia Africa forum, with the presence of a man at all the bilateral meetings between the Russian presidential delegation and the African countries where the Wagner group is present: General Andrei Averyanov, head of unit 29155, responsible for the Russian Military Intelligence Directorate (GRU)’s covert operations.

Russia – CAR meeting during the Russia Africa Forum at the end of July 2023. Gen. Andrei Averyanov is last on the Russian side.

At the end of August, a delegation from the Russian Ministry of Defense led by Deputy Minister of Defense Yunus Bek Yevkurov toured all the countries where the Wagner group is established to negotiate the future. The delegation stops in CAR at the beginning of September to meet with President Touadera and their Defense counterparts. Yunus Bek Yevkurov and President Touadéra but also Andrei Averyanov, from the GRU, Valery Golubsov, military attaché of the Russian embassy in Sudan and Konstantin Myrzoyants, linked to the paramilitary organisation REDUT can be spotted on the photos released in the media on this occasion.

Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty obtained a copy of Pavlov’s passport enabling us to identify the man in a blue suit as Denis Vladimirovich Pavlov by confirming his identity with three facial recognition solutions.

Passport photo of Denis Vladimirovich Pavlov.

Example of facial recognition tools used to compare faces

Espionage, champagne and chocolates in Europe

Pavlov was born in September 1977 in Moscow. His career remains very discreet. There is very little information about him online and in Russian databases. By “osint-ing” his telephone number and email, it is possible to find subscriptions linked to them on OK (a Russian social network), Skype, WhatsApp and Telegram. But Pavlov has no information giving a clue about his identity or his photo. However, according to a European source, he has the rank of Colonel and would be working for the SVR. However his rank could not be verified through our research.

Some of Pavlov’s missions are mentioned online. He was sent to embassies under diplomatic cover in Europe on several occasions and certainly speaks French fluently. Based on documents recovered online, he stayed in Paris as a representative of Russia at UNESCO in 2006 and 2007. He then served as second secretary at the Russia’s permanent mission to the United Nations in Geneva in 2011 and 2012 with his wife who assisted him. His son attended the city’s Russian School from 2010 to 2012. Pavlov can be seen in a photo from the school’s New Year’s party .

Photo from 2011. It gives a positive result with Pavlov’s passport photo in the facial recognition tools used for this investigation.

Denis Pavlov was then sent as political advisor to the Permanent Representative Mission of Russia to the European Union in Brussels. 

Photo of Denis Pavlov (on the left) at a reception organised by the Russian Mission to the European Union (source: Facebook)

According to the participant register, he attended the final conference of the EU CIVCAP project which brought together civil society organisations and was focusing on peacekeeping and conflict management mechanisms in EU intervention areas. He is visible on the photos of the conference available on X/Twitter.

Photos of the conference and zooms on Denis Pavlov.

Pavlov left his position in Brussels in Spring 2023, according to a source close to the EU who said he is from the military intelligence. Before leaving Brussels Pavlov tried not to attract attention to himself and kept a low profile, another source from the EU diplomatic network told RFE/RL and added that despite this fact he was on the radar of intelligence circles in Brussels. 

Pavlov was not part of the expulsions of Russian spies organised in Belgium in response to Russia’s hostile actions on European territory. Asked about Pavlov’s time in Brussels, the European Union External Action (EEAS) spokesperson advised RFE/RL to send questions to the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs explaining this ministry is registering all foreign diplomats that come to work to Brussels even if it is for the EU. The Belgian Foreign Ministry spokesperson replied that RFE/RL questions should be directed to the EEAS.

Contacted several times, the Belgian security services (VSSE) did not respond to requests from our investigative consortium.

Mr and Mrs Pavlov: Family of Intelligence Agents

Pavlov’s wife, Evgenya Pavlova, maiden name Merinova, worked with her husband during their stay in Geneva. But far from being a simple secretary, traditional expat woman, she also occupied administrative functions within the FSB unit 35690 , a special operational centre of the FSB according to Russian databases. Her father, Alexander Merinov , is a former officer of the Vympel unit, the elite Russian special forces unit under the command of the FSB. Contacted by phone, Evgenya Pavlova asked our consortium to call her back after a few minutes of conversation. She did not pick up the phone again. Denis Pavlov has not replied to our media requests. 

But the Central African Republic is not a family affair. The Russian spy would be alone this time in the field. During his first days in the country, Pavlov appeared tense and focused on the photos. The new man in Bangui is not yet used to being in the spotlight, like the commander of the GRU’s clandestine operations, Averyanov, accustomed to media exposure since the Skripal affair .