The head of a Russian oil giant that criticized President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine died Thursday after reportedly falling out of his hospital window.
Lukoil chairman Ravil Maganov died after falling from a window of the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow, Reuters reported, citing two sources familiar with the situation.
The company issued a statement early Thursday confirming the death of Maganov, 67, “after a severe illness,” but did not specify the cause.
“Ravil Maganov immensely contributed to the development of not only the Company, but of the entire Russian oil and gas sector,” the statement read.
NBC News has not verified how he died. The hospital declined to comment and referred comment to the police, who declined to comment when contacted by NBC News.
Lukoil is Russia’s second-largest oil producer. It was a rare Russian business to come out against Putin’s war in Ukraine, which the Kremlin insists on calling its “special military operation.”
The company’s board of directors called for an end to the war in early March, within days of the full-scale invasion of Russia’s neighbor.
“Calling for the soonest termination of the armed conflict, we express our sincere empathy for all victims, who are affected by this tragedy,” a statement from its board of directors read.
The Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow frequently treats Russia’s political and business elites, and was where the final Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev passed away earlier this week.
Maganov had served on Lukoil’s board of directors since 2020, and served as the company’s First Executive Vice President since 1994.
His death raised eyebrows given the company’s opposition to the war and similar unexplained deaths in recent years.
Alexander Subbotin, a former Lukoil manager, was found dead in his basement outside Moscow in May, according to Reuters, citing local media.
In November 2021, a Russian diplomat was found dead on the streets of Berlin after falling from an upper floor of the embassy, German outlet Der Spiegel reported, citing security sources.
Investigative journalist Maxim Borodin, who wrote stories about corrupt officials and the Russian military, died in 2018 after falling from his fifth-story balcony, according to the news agency he worked for.
Reuters contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
