A Russian private military company founder faces charges over an alleged scam targeting recruits. Journalists list him among officers accused of executing their own men.

Alexey Marushchenko, the founder of the Russian private military company (PMC) “Yastreb,” and several of his associates are in pre-trial detention on charges of defrauding nearly 100 newly recruited contract soldiers, according to the Russian business daily Kommersant. Investigators say the victims paid the group in exchange for promises that they would serve not in regular Defense Ministry units, but in the PMC — where conditions would allegedly be easier.