Russian tycoon discovered dead in the office restroom of energy giant Lukoil: report

According to UK media sources, a key member of the energy conglomerate Lukoil, which has ties to the Kremlin, was discovered dead in his workplace toilet. 53-year-old Vitaly Robertus was the company’s vice president. The precise facts surrounding the tragedy were not published, even though his death was declared on Wednesday.

Robertus’s untimely death is the seventh instance of this kind involving people connected to Lukoil since Vladimir Putin’s military offensive against Ukraine began. Conjectures have surfaced against the background of enigmatic high-level executive fatalities within the organization. Robertus recently voiced his concerns about a possible criminal investigation he was facing amid internal unrest inside the US-sanctioned company, according to the UK’s Daily Mail.

Robertus went back to his office after a meeting with his supervisor, senior vice president for sales and supply at Lukoil, Oleg Pashaev. His repeated failure to answer calls from colleagues raised concerns. Robertus was found dead in his office bathroom during Pashaev’s probe, according to the British tabloid, which referenced the Telegram channel VChK-OGPU. An investigation into the circumstances of his death has been started.

The chronology of events inside Lukoil is also highlighted in the study, especially in light of the company’s early opposition to Russia’s military activities in Ukraine. Those on Lukoil’s board, like Ravil Maganov and Vladimir Nekrasov, have voiced worries about the situation in Ukraine and have pushed for a diplomatic solution. With Robertus’s death, the disturbing sequence of events involving Lukoil associates continues. Speculation and suspicion have been stoked by the sudden deaths of prominent figures such as businessman Ravil Maganov, senator Vladimir Lebedev, and head of Lukoil Vladimir Nekrasov.