Russian tycoon Pavel Antov became the fifth Putin critic to die mysteriously in recent weeks after falling out a hotel window. His demise adds to the list of opinionated entrepreneurs suffering deaths under strange circumstances.
Russian tycoon critical of Ukraine war falls from hotel window, friend died two days earlier at same hotel
Russian sausage magnate Pavel Antov, 65, who criticized the invasion of Ukraine, died after falling from the window of a luxury hotel in India, only two days after his friend Vladimir Bidenov died at the same hotel.
Last July, Antov called the Kremlin’s missile attacks on Kyiv “terrorism” on WhatsApp, quoting a story about a girl in a demolished home. “It’s extremely difficult to call all this anything but terror,” he wrote.
Antov, a multi-billionaire whose annual income is estimated at $156 million and who is also a Russian politician, fell out of a hotel window on the third floor on December 24, Yahoo reported. Antov was reportedly at the Hotel Sai International in Rayagada celebrating his upcoming 65th birthday, the Telegraph reported.
Two days earlier, Antov’s friend Vladimir Bidenov was found lying unconscious in his room at the same hotel surrounded by empty wine bottles, the New York Post reported.
Local police said Bidenov suffered a stroke and said Antov “was depressed after his [Bidenov’s] death and he too died,” BBC reported.
The Russian Embassy in India said, “Police do not yet see a criminal component in these tragic events.”
Russian tycoon and two wealthy crypto entrepreneurs die mysteriously
In late November, Russian tycoon Vyacheslav Taran, 53, died after the helicopter he was flying in plunged near the resort town of Villefranche-sur-Mer, near Monaco, after taking off from Lausanne in Switzerland in good, clear weather.
Ukrainian news agency UNIAN claimed, without citing evidence, Taran was a “billionaire crypto businessman with likely ties to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.”
He was the third cryptocurrency entrepreneur that died unexpectedly in the course of a few weeks, the Daily Mail reported.
Cryptocurrency entrepreneur death: Tiantian Kullander
The week prior to Taran’s death, Tiantian Kullander, 30, who co-founded the cryptocurrency company Amber Group, died unexpectedly in his sleep. There were no further details provided surrounding his death. Forbes named him to its 30-under-30 list in 2019. Amber Group said they were “an active trading participant” with the now-collapsed firm FTX.
Cryptocurrency entrepreneur death: Nikolai Mushegian
Only a few weeks earlier, cryptocurrency millionaire Nikolai Mushegian, 29, drowned on a Puerto Rico beach after he had tweeted he feared the CIA and Mossad were going to murder him.
Mushegian tweeted, “They are going to frame me with a laptop planted by my ex [girlfriend] who was a spy. They will torture me to death.”
However, his family says he had a history of mental health problems, and they don’t believe foul play was involved.
