New Delhi: The chairman of Russia’s second-largest oil producer Lukoil, Ravil Maganov, died after he fell from a hospital window in Moscow, news agency Reuters reported.
According to the report, two sources familiar with the situation, confirmed that the 67-year-old oil chief died after falling from the window. However, the circumstances behind the fall are not yet clear. As per the sources, it was highly unlikely Maganov had committed suicide.
According to another source close to the company, some insiders of the Lukoil management believe that he killed himself, but there was no such evidence or document to prove it.
Asked if they were probing the death as suspicious, Moscow police referred the question to the state’s Investigative Committee. The panel, however, did not immediately respond to it, Reuters reported.
As per a statement issued by Lukoil, Maganov had “passed away following a serious illness”.
“Lukoil’s many thousands of employees mourn deeply for this grievous loss and express their sincere condolences to Ravil Maganov’s family,” the statement read.
Notably, Maganov had worked in Lukoil since the year 1993, shortly after the company’s inception, and had overseen its refining, production and exploration. He became the chairman in 2020.
Maganov’s brother Nail is currently the head of mid-sized Russian oil producer Tatneft.
Maganov was a close associate of one of Lukoil’s founders, Vagit Alekperov, and would frequently take part in meetings of Russian oil producers and the energy ministry, to decide on joint actions as part of the OPEC+ group of leading international oil producers.
It is to be noted that Maganov’s demise comes amid reports of a series of unexplained deaths of several businessmen. Many other senior executives with ties to Russia’s energy industry have died in unclear circumstances over the last few months.
The day after Russia sent its forces into Ukraine in February, a Gazprom executive, Alexander Tyulakov, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in his garage near St Petersburg, as per Russian media.
Earlier, in April, Sergei Protosenya, a former top manager of Russia’s largest liquefied natural gas producer Novatek, was found dead with his wife and daughter at a villa in Spain.
Catalan regional police, probing the case, said that they believe he killed his family members before taking his own life.