Billionaires are usually not inclined to kill themselves in such a macabre way.
Russian billionaire and coal baron Dmitry Bosov has died by suicide at his home in a Moscow suburb, authorities said Wednesday.
Relatives discovered Bosov’s body with gunshot wounds at his home in the luxury village of Usovo in Moscow’s elite suburb of Rublyovka, the country’s Investigative Committee said in a statement. A Glock pistol was found nearby.
Bosov didn’t leave a suicide note, the Kommersant business daily reported.
Bosov, 52, ranked 86th in Forbes’ list of the richest Russian billionaires with a $1.1 billion net worth. He was a principal shareholder and chairman of the board of Alltech Group, an investment firm that manages anthracite, coal and other energy and real estate companies.
Alltech’s Siberian Anthracite, the world’s top anthracite coal exporter, is the general sponsor of Russia’s Night Hockey League, a tournament founded by President Vladimir Putin.
Wounds is plural, meaning that there was more than one shot fired. Not normal for a suicide, but normal for a murder by someone else.
All Russian billionaires are basically mafia kingpins. I can’t imagine that much of what they do is anything more than extortion, bribery, and money laundering. That’s just how they roll in Russia, which is a nation that thrives on tribute payments to authorities who regularly extort businessmen (or help businessmen eliminate rivals for a kickback).
Maybe this guy made a business deal that some KGB grunt didn’t like and was offed. Who knows. All I know is that “suicide” of a high-profile figure in Russia is just a euphemism for “KGB hit”.
It’s like Vince Foster’s “suicide” all again. Also, was he on bad terms with Putin? If so, this may explains the suicide-murder.