Mercenary army Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash along with nine other people on board, Russia's civil aviation authority confirmed Wednesday.
Earlier, Wagner-linked Telegram channel Grey Zone reported the Embraer aircraft was shot down by air defences in the Tver region, north of Moscow.
The jet, which was flying from Moscow to St. Petersburg, was carrying seven passengers and three crew.
Federal Agency for Air Transport started an investigation into the crash of the plane crash in the Tver.
"An investigation into the Embraer plane crash that occurred in the Tver Region this evening has been launched. According to the passenger list, the first and last name of Yevgeny Prigozhin was included in this list," the agency was quoted as saying by TASS news agency.
The Wagner boss-led mutiny failed in late June against the Russian leadership.
Grey Zone said local residents heard two bangs before the crash and saw two vapour trails.
Tass reported that the plane caught fire on hitting the ground, adding that "four bodies had already been found," however, it is not immediately clear whether the Wagner chief's body has been found.
The aircraft had been in the air for less than half an hour, according to the Russian air agency.
Russian government spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said earlier in July that Prigozhin and his companions met with President Vladimir Putin who invited 35 people to the meeting which lasted for three hours.
"The only thing we can say is that the president gave his assessment of the company's [Wagner's] actions at the front during the Special Military Operation [in Ukraine] and also gave his assessment of the events of 24 June [the day of the mutiny]," Peskov had told reporters.
He had said Putin had listened to the commanders' own explanations of what had happened and had offered them further options for employment and combat.