Russian Oil Executive Dies in Mysterious “Fall” from Moscow Hospital Window
Edited by: Fern Sidman
The board chairman of Russia’s largest private oil company Lukoil has died with Russian news agencies on Thursday citing sources saying that he had fallen from a hospital window in what may have been a suicide, as was reported by the AP.
A Lukoil statement said Ravil Maganov, 67, “passed away after a severe illness” but did not give further details.
Russian news reports said his body was found on the grounds of the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow where Russia’s political and business elite are often treated, according to the AP. He appeared to have fallen from a sixth-story window, the reports said.
The AP reported that the Russian state news agency Tass cited an unnamed law enforcement source as saying Maganov had committed suicide and that he had been admitted to the hospital after a heart attack. The news site RBK also said police were investigating the possibility of suicide.
The Guardian of the UK reported that Baza, a Russian news site with close ties to the police, suggested he may have slipped from a balcony while smoking and that no CCTV was available because cameras had been turned off for repairs.
Lukoil was one of a few Russian companies to publicly call for an end to Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, calling in March for the “immediate cessation of the armed conflict,” as was reported by the AP.
“Calling for the soonest termination of the armed conflict, we express our sincere empathy for all victims who are affected by this tragedy,” the board of directors of Lukoil said, as was reported by the Guardian of the UK. “We strongly support a lasting ceasefire and a settlement of problems through serious negotiations and diplomacy.”
The BBC reported that Maganov is the latest of a number of high-profile business executives to die in mysterious circumstances. The UK news agency reported that several Russian energy oligarchs have died in unusual circumstances in recent months.
The body of millionaire Novatek former manager Sergei Protosenya was found alongside his wife and daughter at a Spanish villa in April, the BBC reported and a former vice-president of Gazprombank, Vladislav Avayev, was found dead with his wife and daughter in their Moscow flat, also in April, the UK news agency reported.
In May, a former Lukoil tycoon Alexander Subbotin was found dead in the basement of a residence in a Moscow suburb in May, the BBC reported. Russian news reports said the house belonged to a self-style shaman who practiced purification rights, as was reported by the AP. Investigators said the preliminary of cause of death was determined to be heart failure.
Lukoil is Russia’s biggest private company. The BCC reported in its statement that it was due to Maganov’s managerial talent that it had evolved into one of the world’s largest energy firms.
He began working for the private oil company in 1993 and took over as chairman two years ago, the BBC reported. The report also indicated that three years ago he was given a lifetime achievement award by President Vladimir Putin.
Maganov had been receiving treatment at a hospital on the western outskirts of Moscow, which is known for having Russia’s political and business elite among its patients, the BBC said.
Former Russian Premiere Mikhail Gorbachev died at the Central Clinical Hospital on Tuesday and the BBC also reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the site on Thursday morning to lay flowers beside his coffin.
