Mystery as fifth Russian Gazprom-linked executive found dead in his swimming pool

Yury Voronov, head of a company that held Gazprom contracts, died from a gun shot wound to the head

A number of senior executives connected to Gazprom have been found dead (REUTERS)

Another top Russian executive linked to energy giant Gazprom has been found dead at his mansion, local media has reported.

Yury Voronov, the head of a logistics company that held lucrative contracts with Gazprom, was found dead in a swimming pool at his home in a luxury suburb near St Petersburg.

He reportedly died of a gunshot wound to the head. Mr Voronov was the founder and CEO of the transport and logistics company Astra-Shipping, which worked with Gazprom in the Arctic.

According to Russian media outlet 47news, a grand power pistol was found near the swimming pool and there were several shell casings at the bottom. He was found at around 2pm on Monday.

Mr Voronov’s widow allegedly told the police that her husband had been drinking heavily recently due to a falling out with his contractors and business partners.

His death is at least the sixth linked to the Russian gas industry in recent months.

Leonid Shulman, head of Gazprom Invest’s transport service, was found dead near Leningrad on 30 January 2022.

Just a month after that Alexander Tyulakov, a deputy general director at Gazprom, was found dead in his garage on 25 February.

Mikhail Watford, a Ukrainian-born Russian billionaire who was not connected to Gazprom but did make his fortune through oil and gas, was found dead in his home in Surrey, England on 28 February. Surrey police did not treat the death as suspicious.

Sergey Protosenya was found dead along with his wife and daughter in Spain (Protosenya family)

The bodies of former Gazprombank vice president Vladislav Avayev, his wife and daughter were found in Moscow on 18 April.

Igor Volobuev, former VP at Gazprombank, told CNN that he did not believe that the deaths were a murder-suicide, as police had suggested.

“His job was to deal with private banking, that means dealing with VIP clients,” he said. “He was in charge of very large amounts of money. So, did he kill himself? I don’t think so.

“I think he knew something and that he posed some sort of risk.”

A day later, a top manager at gas producer Novatek, which is partially owned by Gazprom, Sergey Protosenya was found dead along with his wife and daughter in Spain.

Mr Protosenya was found hanging in an apartment in Lloret de Mar, a seaside town in Catalonia, and his wife and daughter had died from stab wounds.

Their deaths have been investigated as a murder-suicide.