In his remarks, Putin said, “I knew Prigozhin for a very long time, since the early ’90s.
“He was a man of complicated fate, and he made serious mistakes in his life, but he achieved the right results. He was a talented person, a talented businessman, he worked not only in our country, and worked with results, but also abroad, in Africa, in particular.
“He was involved there with oil, gas, precious metals and stones.
“As far as I know, he just returned yesterday from Africa. He met some officials here. But what is quite definite – the head of the Investigative Committee reported to me this morning – is they have already begun a preliminary investigation into this event. And it will be carried out in full, and taken right to the end.”__Al Jazeera