In recent months, Russian oligarchs have been mysteriously killing themselves. Now it hits businessman and MP Pavel Antov. The 65-year-old was discovered lifeless in front of a hotel in India – a few days after his travel companion died.
Russian politician and entrepreneur Pavel Antov has died in India under unclear circumstances. The 65-year-old was found lifeless in a pool of blood in front of a hotel in the Rayagada district in the Indian state of Odisha, according to the news channel NDTV. While Indian media reported that Antov jumped from the hotel’s roof, the Russian Consulate General in Kolkata said he fell from a third floor window of the hotel.
According to previous investigations, Antov wanted to celebrate his 66th birthday in India and, as a member of a four-person travel group, checked into the three-star hotel last Wednesday. A day later, the body of Russian Vladimir Bydanov was discovered in one of the hotel rooms. Bydanov was part of Antov’s tour group. According to the police, the 61-year-old died of a heart attack. Antov died on Saturday.
The identity of the other two traveling companions is unknown. The Russian consulate general told the state news agency TASS that there are currently no signs of a crime. Russian media outlet SHOT reported that Indian police are not ruling out the possibility that Antov became depressed over the death of his friend and may have committed suicide.
Antov is the founder of the meat company “Vladimir Standard”. In 2019, according to Forbes, with an income of 9.97 billion rubles, the equivalent of 137 million euros, he took first place in the ranking of the richest officials and deputies in Russia. As a member of Putin’s ruling United Russia party, Antov was also a deputy to the Vladimir region’s Legislative Assembly.
In June, Antov criticized Moscow’s war of aggression against Ukraine on the Internet, calling Russian missile attacks “terror.” A little later he deleted his entry from the network, publicly apologized and spoke of a technical error. Antov leaves behind his wife and a daughter.
In recent months, a series of mysterious deaths of Russian oligarchs have led to rumors that the murders, like suicides, may have been staged. There was speculation about possible punitive actions by the Kremlin. For example, Alexander Tyulyakov, deputy director general of Gazprom, was found hanged in his villa near St. Petersburg a day after Russia attacked Ukraine.
In the same area, a month earlier, former Gazprom executive Leonid Schulman was found dead in the bathroom of his home. In England, oligarch Mikhail Watford was found hanged in the garage of his mansion.
