A Russian businessman who made his fortune in the sausage industry before becoming a lawmaker died on Saturday after falling out of a hotel window while on vacation in India.
The body of Pavel Antov, 65, was found outside his hotel on Saturday in eastern Odisha state. Police believed he died by suicide after falling from a third floor window of the hotel.
Antov’s death comes two days after his travel companion Vladimir Budanov, 61, was “discovered unconscious” in his room at the same hotel. Russian state media says Budanov cause of death was likely a heart attack.
Antov was one of the wealthiest lawmakers in Russia, topping Forbes’ list in 2018. He served in Russia’s legislative assembly in the United Russia party, which was formerly led by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In June, he condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine on social media but later deleted the post and blamed an “unfortunate misunderstanding and a technical error”.
According to Russia’s TASS news agency, Antov had just turned 65 two days before his death.
Since the start of the year, at least a dozen prominent Russian businessmen have died under mysterious circumstances, which Russian officials claim were either accidents or suicides, according to CNN.
Alexander Buzakov, 66, the Director General of Admiralty Shipyards, that specializes in building non-nuclear submarines, died suddenly last week, Reuters reported. Buzakov’s cause of death remains unclear.
Weeks ago, Dmitry Zelenov, 50, a real estate tycoon, died after falling down a flight of stairs while on vacation with friends in the French Riviera.
