A leading Russian oil tycoon has been killed after a mysterious fall from a sixth-floor window at a Moscow hospital.
Ravil Maganov, chairman of Russian oil giant LUKOIL, died on the spot after falling from a window at the Central Clinic Hospital.
It is unclear why Maganov, 67, was in hospital but his death is the latest of a number of Russian energy tycoons killed in suspicious circumstances this year as the war in Ukraine wages on.
Maganov has been chairman of LUKOIL since 2020 and was executive vice president from 2006 to 2020.
He had been in senior positions with the company since joining the board in the early 1990s and was decorated by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
An initial report from MASH media, with links to law enforcement, claims that “he threw himself out of the window” suggesting suicide and was later found by medical staff.
However, Russian reports of such cases often rush to conclusions before there is clear evidence.
In March, Lukoil’s board called for “the soonest termination of the armed conflict [in Ukraine]” and expressed “sincere empathy for all victims."
A statement continued: "We strongly support a lasting ceasefire and a settlement of problems through serious negotiations and diplomacy.”
Police are working at the scene and there has been no official statement on the cause of death.
Reports suggested the oil executive was in hospital for a routine check-up for a long-standing heart problem.
A packet of cigarettes was believed to have been found close to the window from which he fell, leading to the supposition that he may have been smoking before falling.
Reports citing law enforcement sources said there was no suicide note.
The hospital on Marshal Timoshenko Street in Moscow is the same one where the last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev died earlier this week.
Early in the Covid pandemic, there were multiple reports of patients jumping out of hospital windows in Russia and other ex-Soviet countries, which some believed were triggered by drugs they were administered.
However, no clear cause was established.
This is the sixth death of a Russian gas industry figure to die in violent circumstances this year.
Top oil magnate Yury Voronov, a Russian businessman with connections to Russian oil company Gazprom, was found dead after reportedly being shot in the head back in June.
His body was discovered in the swimming pool of a luxury property near St Petersburg and what happened is still unknown.
His death came after Vladislav Avayev, a former Gazprombank vice-president, and Sergey Protosenya, a top manager at Russia’s Novotek energy giant, were both reported to have committed apparent murder-suicides in April.
Putin awarded Maganov the prestigious Order of Alexander Nevsky in 2019.
The award is given for lifetime achievements, notable social contributions and years of dedicated effort.
Lukoil confirmed Maganov "passed away following a severe illness", but doesn't say how he died.
