The double murder of Russian oligarchs Vladislav Avayev and Sergey Protosenya within a span of 48-hours have raised concerns. Avayev, the 51-year-old, was a former Kremlin official as well as Gazprombank’s ex-vice-president and he was found dead along with his pregnant 47-year-old wife Yelena and 13-year-old daughter Maria last week, news agency Newsweek said in a report.
The other oligarch, Protosenya, was found dead in his luxury villa in Spain’s coastal town of Lloret de Mar. The 55-year-old, who served as the former deputy chairman for Novatek, was also found dead along with his Natalya, 53, and 18-year-old daughter, Maria.
Initial reports cited by the Newsweek and Spanish media outlets suggest that the women in Protosenya’s luxury villa were stabbed and the former gas company’s deputy director allegedly died by suicide as he was found hanging in the garden.
Avayev also allegedly killed his wife and the young teen daughter with a gun and later shot himself based on preliminary investigation.
There is concern among European security agencies whether it was indeed a double-homicide or a hit job organised by the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB).
Spanish investigators told local news agency El Punt Avui that there could be some inconsistencies in the murder scene as they cited that they were unable to find any blood marks on Protosenya. They, however, are yet to confirm anything officially.
The murders also come a week after Russian president Vladimir Putin attacked pro-Europe Russian oligarchs. “I do not judge those with villas in Miami or the French Riviera. Or those who can’t get by without oysters or foie gras or so-called ‘gender freedoms’. The problem is they mentally exist there and not here, with our people, with Russia,” Putin said following which Newsweek reported that there was an exodus of private jets from Moscow as Putin also called for a ‘self-purification’ of Russia.
Meanwhile, speaking to Sky News Australia, one of Avayev’s neighbours said that the former Kremlin official is incapable of such horrific acts. It also said in its report that a total of 13 weapons were reportedly found inside the 14th floor luxury apartment.
In both cases, the bodies were discovered by their surviving children. Avayev’s 26-year-old daughter Anastasia found their bodies in Moscow while Protosenya’s son living in France raised an alarm after failing to reach out to his parents.
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