Three People Killed Family Members Before Death
Recently reported Russian businessmen who have taken their own lives. (From the top left clockwise) Sergei Protosenya, Aleksandr Tulakov, Mikhail Watford, Vladislav Abayev, Vasily Melnikov, Leonid Shulman. /Photo by Twitter capture
[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] It has been reported that six Russian oligarchs have died one after another in the past three months. Among them, four were found to be connected to Gazprom, the Russian state-owned energy company.
According to CNN recently, at least six well-known Russian businessmen are reported to have committed suicide, and among them, three killed their families before taking their own lives.
The Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that at the end of January, Leonid Shulman (60), an executive in the transportation division of Gazprominvest under Gazprom, was found dead at his villa near Saint Petersburg. A suicide note was found at the scene, and there was no evidence of foul play.
On February 25, another Gazprom financial executive, Aleksandr Tulakov (61), was found dead in the same village. The cause of death was ruled as suicide.
Vladislav Abayev (51), a former high-ranking Russian official and former vice president of Gazprombank, was found dead along with his wife and daughter on the 18th of last month in their Moscow apartment. Investigators noted that the apartment was locked from the inside, and a pistol was found in Abayev’s hand, leading to the presumption that Abayev killed his family before committing suicide.
The next day, on the 19th, Sergey Protoseniya (55), a former executive of Novatek, a natural gas producer partly owned by Gazprom, was found dead at his villa north of Barcelona, Spain. His wife and daughter were also found dead with stab wounds. His son, who was outside at the time, told the Daily Mail in an interview, "My father loved my mother and sister very much and had no reason to harm them. I believe they were murdered."
Billionaire Vasily Melnikov (43), owner of the medical supplies company Medstorm, was found dead along with his wife and two sons at his home in Novgorod, Russia, in March. Authorities concluded that he killed his wife and two sons with a weapon before taking his own life.
On February 28, Mikhail Watford (66), a Russian billionaire of Ukrainian origin, was found dead at his home in Surrey, England. He was known to have amassed wealth through Russian energy-related businesses such as gas and oil. Police stated that no signs of external intrusion were found at the time.
Meanwhile, Igor Volobuyev, former vice president of Gazprombank (a Gazprom subsidiary) who fled to Kyiv after the war broke out, said in a video interview with the UK Telegraph, "War crimes committed by the Russian military in Ukraine must be punished."
Additionally, in an interview with CNN, he raised suspicions of foul play regarding the death of Abayev, former vice president of Gazprombank, saying, "His main job was private banking handling VIP clients. He was responsible for huge sums of money, and he might have known something that posed a danger to someone."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
