Suspicious deaths of oligarchs continue to occur in Russia. The youngest in chronological order is Anton Cherepennikov, owner of Russia’s IKS Holding, a millionaire with ties to Russian intelligence. He was 40 years old. According to official information, the cause of death was cardiac arrest: the man was found dead in his office on Saturday. Cherepennikov’s IKS Holding is the largest company in Russia in the field of computer security and so-called “investigative operating systems” (eavesdropping). His company serves Russian law enforcement agencies and, according to Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, has been used by the FSB, the federal security service, to wiretap civilians across the country (in practice, many measures have been implemented related to the “Yarovaya Law,” which obliges Internet and phone companies to disclose their users’ private communications and data).
Ukrainian internal affairs adviser Anton Gerashchenko commented on the news of the death on Twitter: “Another mysterious death of a top manager in Russia.” Cherepennikov’s death is the second in a few hours of a person connected to Putin’s entourage. In recent days, billionaire oligarch Igor Kudryakov, a former government official and wealthy businessman, died lifeless at his Moscow apartment.