LIST: Russian businessmen who have died in unexplained circumstances

Ravil Maganov, chairman of Russian oil company Lukoil, became the latest in a series of businessmen to meet with sudden unexplained deaths when he fell from a hospital window in Moscow on Thursday, September 1.

Here is a list of other recent cases.

Leonid Shulman

Shulman, 60, served as the head of the transport service at Gazprom Invest, which handles investment projects for gas giant Gazprom. His body was found on January 30 in the bathroom of a cottage in Vyborgsky district, north of Saint Petersburg, local news reported, citing a source.

A source told RIA news agency his death was believed to be a suicide. A local news portal reported that Shulman had been on sick leave due to a leg injury.

Alexander Tyulakov

Tyulakov, a 61-year old executive at Gazprom, was found dead in the garage of his Saint Petersburg home on February 25, the morning after Russia invaded Ukraine, Russian media reported.

Neither Gazprom nor the region’s investigative committee issued any public statements about the death, which newspaper Novaya Gazeta described as an apparent suicide. The newspaper reported that people describing themselves as members of Gazprom’s security services cordoned off the scene. Reuters was not able to independently verify this report.

Mikhail Watford

Watford, a 66-year-old Ukrainian-born businessman, was found dead at a property in southeast England on February 28, local media reported, citing police.

Surrey Police were quoted as saying that officers were not treating his death as suspicious but that an investigation was underway.

Vladislav Avayev

Avayev, a 51-year-old ex-vice president at Gazprombank, was found dead in a Moscow apartment along with the bodies of his wife and daughter on April 18, Russian media reported.

Kommersant newspaper cited investigators as saying they believed Avayev, a well-known banker, had shot both of them before committing suicide.

Sergei Protosenya

On April 19, Sergei Protosenya, a 55-year-old former top manager of Russia’s largest liquefied natural gas producer Novatek, was found dead with his wife and daughter at a villa in Spain, Russian news media reported.

Catalan regional police, investigating the case, have said they believe he killed them and then took his own life.

Vladimir Lyakishev

Lyakishev, the 45-year-old former co-owner of the Bratya Karavayevi restaurant chain, was found dead on the 16th floor balcony of the building where he lived, Russia’s RBC media group reported.

A source told RBC that Lyakishev was found with a gunshot wound to his head on May 4.

Yury Voronov

Voronov, the chief executive officer and founder of Astra-Shipping, a company which worked on Arctic contracts for Gazprom, was found dead in a swimming pool at a cottage complex in Leningrad Region, RBC wrote in July. He was found with a gunshot wound to his head, while a pistol was found nearby, RBC said.

Ravil Maganov

Ravil Maganov, the 67-year-old chairman of Lukoil, died on Thursday after falling from a hospital window in Moscow, two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.

– Rappler.com