Russia's billionaire lawmaker and Putin critic found dead in hotel in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: Pavel Antov, 65, a billionaire meat trader and Russian lawmaker died under mysterious circumstances after falling from the third floor of a star hotel in Odisha's Rayagada on Sunday. He was allegedly found dead having fallen out of a window from the hotel's third-floor.

Pavel is the second Russian political leader to die in the same hotel in less than two days. On Friday, Pavel's friend Vladimir Budanov (61) died of a heart attack in his hotel room. Both were leaders of United Russia, Russia's largest party.

Pavel and Budanov along with two other friends had come to Odisha for a leisure trip. They celebrated Pavel's 65th birthday at the hotel on Sunday. The body was cremated here on Monday with the permission of the family.

On December 21, the four took rooms in the hotel. Pavel and Budanov were in room number 203. The hotel officials said that the four were drunk. Budanov was found dead on Friday morning. The police officials probing the case said that Pavel was upset over the death of his friend and the preliminary assumption is that he fell and died.

Russian billionaire

Forbes magazine reported that Pavel Antov, the owner of the Vladimir Standard meat processing plant, had a net worth of $140 million (more than Rs 1000 cr) in 2019.

Critics have died before

Pavel Antov is the latest Russian billionaire to die mysteriously after criticizing the war in Ukraine. Last September, Ravil Maganov, head of petroleum giant Lukoil, fell to his death from a hospital window in Moscow.

Last June, a message appeared on Pavel's WhatsApp calling the Russian missile attack on a residential area in Kiev, Ukraine, a terrorist attack. The message was later changed as pro-war.