Five top Kremlin-linked energy bosses have mysteriously been found dead since start of 2022
Five leading energy officials in Russia have now reportedly died in suspicious circumstances since the start of the year.
A shipping boss with ties to the Kremlin, Yuri Voronov, was found with a gunshot wound at his property this week.
This comes after four other officials with links to Moscow’s energy industry, and in particular to Gazprom and Gazprombank, also died.
According to the Times, these include former Gazprombank VP Vladislav Avayev,, and a manager at Russia’s Novotek energy giant, Sergey Protosenya.
Both reportedly committed suicide in April, with Avayev’s wife and 13-year-old daughter also found dead.
Igor Volobuev, an ex Gazprombank official who fled to Ukraine, however claimed his former colleague may have been framed.
Earlier in the year, Gazprom’s head of transport, Leonid Shulman, was found dead while being investigated for fraud, while , Alexander Tyulakov, another official at the company, reportedly hanged himself in February.
On February 24 of this year, Russia launched a war against Ukraine, leading to a series of sanctions against Moscow. Its energy market has been hit hard with many Nato-allied countries abandoning Russian fuel and looking for alternatives, putting pressure on the industry run by the Kremlin.