The spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, said on Wednesday that the crash of the private jet of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group, could have been caused by “deliberate wrongdoing”. He said that this was one of the “various theories” that Russian investigators are looking into.

Peskov told reporters that the investigation into the crash is a “Russian investigation” and that no international agencies will take part in it. He said that one of the reasons for excluding foreign investigators is that foul play is a possible explanation.

He said that there are different theories, and one of them is “deliberate wrongdoing – let’s put it that way.”

Brazilian aviation authorities, who made the jet that crashed, had offered to join the investigation if they were invited and if it followed international standards. The jet was flying within Russia when it crashed. The Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) said that the investigation is being done by the domestic authorities.