(NEWSnet/AP) — Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of the private army of prison recruits and other mercenaries that has fought some of the deadliest battles in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, escaped prosecution for his rebellion against the Kremlin and is in Belarus, that country’s president said.

The exile of the 62-year-old owner of Wagner Group was part of a deal that ended the mutiny in Russia. He and some of his troops are welcome to stay “for some time” at their own expense, President Alexander Lukashenko said.

Russian Defense Ministry said preparations are underway for Wagner to surrender its heavy weapons to the Russian military. Those moves were in progress in advance of a July 1 deadline for troops to sign contracts to serve under the Russian military’s command, Prigozhin said.

Russian authorities also said Tuesday that they have closed a criminal investigation into the uprising and are pressing no charges against Prigozhin or his followers after the negotiated deal. The Federal Security Service said they ceased activities directed at committing the crime.

Even so, Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to set the stage for charges of financial wrongdoing against an affiliated organization Concord Group, owned by Prigozhin.

Prigozhin issued no public statement Tuesday.

For years, Prigozhin has had lucrative catering contracts with the Russian government. Police who searched his St. Petersburg office on Saturday said they found 4 billion rubles ($48 million) in trucks nearby, according to media reports confirmed by the Wagner boss. He said the money was intended to pay soldiers’ families.

Over the weekend, the Kremlin had pledged not to prosecute Prigozhin and his fighters after he stopped the revolt less than 24 hours after it began.

The charge of mounting an armed mutiny is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

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