A senior Russian embassy official was found dead in the Embassy complex in Nicosia (Picture: David Vujanovic/AFP via Getty Images)
A senior Russian embassy official has been found dead behind diplomatic walls in Cyprus, just one day after a powerful Putin businessman vanished near Limassol.
A high-ranking official was discovered dead in his office inside the Russian Embassy complex in Nicosia.
It is understood that staff took several days to inform the authorities of the death.
When Cypriot police arrived, they were reportedly barred from entering the embassy.
Instead, the body was handed over to officers in the courtyard, with embassy officials insisting the man had taken his own life, according to reports.
Police were told a suicide note existed, but it was not given to Cypriot investigators.
The embassy said the note would be sent directly to Moscow.
Cyprus’ foreign ministry and security services were alerted, and an autopsy is expected to reveal what really happened.
The Russian Embassy in Cyprus has not said anything publicly so far, and there is no comment from the Foreign Ministry in Moscow.
The death reportedly happened on January 8, the day after a high-profile Russian businessman, Vladislav Baumgertner, vanished from his luxury home in Limassol.
Vladislav Baumgertner, former boss of potash giant Uralkali, vanished from his luxury home in Limassol (Picture: Kommersant/east2west news)
Baumgertner, who was a former boss of potash giant Uralkali, was last seen leaving his home wearing black shorts and a black t-shirt.
After he stopped answering calls, an employee reported him missing.
Baumgertner’s last phone signal was traced by police to a remote, steep, coastal area near Pissouri, a rugged stretch of cliffs between Limassol and Paphos.
A major search involving police, civil defence teams, volunteers, helicopters and drones was launched.
However, the operation was halted by severe weather, with searches due to resume when conditions improve.
Russian state agency TASS confirmed the embassy is monitoring the case.
Baumgertner’s place of residence was not officially known until January 11, when the Cypriot police reported his disappearance and announced a search, Russian sources say.
He was educated at the University of London and Kingston Business School.
Baumgertner was once one of Russia’s most influential corporate figures, serving as CEO of Uralkali and chairman of the Belarusian Potash Company.
In 2013, he was arrested in Belarus amid a vicious corporate and political feud that spiralled into a diplomatic crisis between Minsk and Moscow.
This standoff reportedly required Vladimir Putin’s personal intervention with Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko, causing strained relations between the two.
Baumgertner reportedly had a strained relationship with Putin (Picture: EPA/Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool)
Baumgertner later returned to senior roles in Russian business and has lived in Cyprus since around 2017, according to people familiar with his movements.
A former Soviet source who lived near the tycoon in Cyprus posted: ‘Baumgertner has gone missing.
‘[He is the] guy who Lukashenko once took hostage when they were dividing up the potash market before the first Ukrainian war.
‘For about ten years nothing was heard of him – he lay low – but apparently they got to him here as well.
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‘Since the morning, helicopters have been flying around, searching for a body.
‘However, there is so far no official confirmation of what has happened to Baumgertner.’
It is unclear if there is any connection between the two cases of the dead diplomat and the missing tycoon.
Cypriot sources say there is no confirmed link between the two incidents, which come at a time of heightened tensions between Nicosia and the Kremlin.
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