Four high-profile Russian gas executives, who were close to Kremlin, were found mysteriously dead along with their family members in the past few weeks, endorsing speculations that their deaths could have been ordered by Russia's strongman or someone shaping Moscow's strategies.
Sources have claimed that the death of four Russian gas executives, who are linked to President Vladimir Putin, are all suspicious, according to the Daily Mail.
Two top executives and Vladislav Avayev were found dead mysteriously along with their family members in Madrid and Moscow respectively this month.
There were also two more deaths of executives linked to gas companies in February soon after the war began.
The body of Alexander Tyulakov, 61, who has been a senior Gazprom financial and security official, was discovered by his lover on February 25.
Tyulakov's Neck Was in Noose
He was tied to a knot in his £500,000 home. It was reported that his death was made to look like a suicide. But local reports claim that Tyulakov was beaten before his death, suggesting that the executive was under immense pressure.
Shulman's Body Was Found in Pool of Blood on Bathroom Floor
Three weeks earlier, the head of transport at Gazprom Invest Leonid Shulman, 60, was found dead in his bathroom. His body had multiple wounds and was lying in a pool of blood on his bathroom floor.
A note was also found in his home but Russian officials have not disclosed that.
Protosenya Hanged Outside His Spanish Villa
Protosenya was found hanged outside his Spanish villa and his wife and daughter were hacked to death inside the property earlier this week. Officials found the axe in his villa and believed that the businessman could have killed his wife and daughter and later hanged himself.
But local reports say that there were no suicide notes at the scene and no fingerprints were found from the murderous weapon, a development which indicates the involvement of a killer who used prevention to hide his/her identity.
Protosenya had a fortune of more than £330 million and had also served as Deputy Chairman on the Board of Directors for seven years for Novatek, a natural gas company.
Avayev Was Found Dead Along With His Wife And Daughter
A day before Protosenya's death, Russian businessman Avayev was found dead in a Moscow apartment along with his wife and daughter. The trio's death also appeared to be a suicide at first sight.
Avayev was previously a Kremlin official and also served as vice president of Gazprombank, a bank that was created to work for Russian gas giant Gazprom.
Notably, Putin had authorized Gazprombank to receive payments for gas in rubles.
Protosenya and Avayev -- managers of two key private companies managing the money of Putin's entourage -- died in similar and strange circumstances in the gap of a day.
In total, within a span of six weeks, the deaths of Russia's four top gas executives in mysterious and similar situations suggest a dispute among Kremlin insiders and Putin's inner circle, who manage massive wealth from gas companies.
In Russian businesses, shake-ups in ownerships are common and sometimes hidden and surrogate owners are also involved in the deaths of the top figures of companies for their monetary gains.
If any Western involvement is ignored in these killings, it is believed that the deaths of these top four executives could only be possible either on the order of the government's top brass or someone very close to the strongman.
