Ravil Maganov, president of the second Russian oil producer Lukoil, died after falling out of the window of a Moscow hospital, two sources familiar with the situation said.
Become the latest in a line of businessmen to encounter unexplained sudden deaths.
Sources confirmed reports in several Russian media that the 67-year-old dived to his death, but the circumstances of his fall were unclear.
Two people who knew Maganov well told Reuters they thought it highly unlikely that he had killed himself.
Another source close to the company said that Lukoil’s management was believed to have committed suicide, but had not seen any supporting evidence or documents.
Asked by Reuters whether they were investigating the death as a suspect, Moscow police referred the matter to the state investigative committee. The Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lukoil said in a statement that Maganov “died after a serious illness”.
“The thousands of Lukoil employees deeply mourn this painful loss and express their sincere condolences to Ravil Maganov’s family,” he said.
Several other senior executives with ties to the Russian energy industry have suddenly died under unclear circumstances in recent months.
The day after Russian forces were sent to Ukraine in February, Gazprom executive Alexander Tyulakov was found dead in his garage near St. Petersburg, Russian media reported.
In April, Sergei Protosenya, a former senior executive of Novatek, the largest Russian liquefied natural gas producer, was found dead with his wife and daughter in a villa in Spain. The Catalan regional police, investigating the case, said they believed he killed them and then took his own life.
In May, Russian media reported that a former director of Lukoil, Alexander Subbotin, was found dead in the basement of a house outside Moscow.
In the same month, Russian media reported that Vladislav Avayev, former vice president of Gazprombank, was found dead in a Moscow apartment, including the bodies of his wife and daughter.
Maganov had worked at Lukoil since 1993, shortly after the company’s founding, and oversaw its refining, production and exploration, becoming president in 2020. His brother Nail heads Russian medium-sized oil producer Tatneft.
Unusually among Russian companies, Lukoil took a stand on Moscow’s intervention in Ukraine. In a March 3 statement, the company’s board of directors expressed concern over the “tragic events” in Ukraine and called for “the fastest possible end to the armed conflict” through negotiations.
Maganov was a close associate of one of Lukoil’s founders, Vagit Alekperov, and frequently attended meetings of Russian oil producers and the Ministry of Energy to decide joint actions within the OPEC + group of the world’s largest oil producers. oil.
Alekperov, a former Soviet deputy oil minister, stepped down from his post as president of Lukoil in April, a week after Britain imposed an asset freeze and travel ban on him as part of the Russian military’s stock sanctions in Ukraine.