Cyprus investigates ‘sinister’ death of Russian diplomat said to have been GRU spy | Cyprus

Authorities in Cyprus are investigating the “unnatural death” of a diplomat at the Russian embassy.

“The incident at the embassy is being treated as an unnatural death because it seems, based on the autopsy, it was a suicide,” said Cyprus’s police spokesperson, Vyron Vyronos.

The death comes as police also seek to get to the bottom of a corruption scandal rocking the country.

The Russian embassy refused to hand Cypriot authorities the suicide note reportedly written by the late diplomat Alexei Panov, 41, or allow access to the crime scene. Instead, police were forced to retrieve the body in the courtyard of the diplomatic compound.

“We had requested permission to enter the embassy but it was denied,” said Vyronos.

In a post on Facebook, the mission identified “the employee” as AV Panov, saying he had “passed away” on 8 January. “His death is a deeply personal tragedy for his family and friends,” said the post. “The deceased’s family was provided with all the necessary help and support.”

Dmitry Khmelnitsky, an independent researcher who writes about Russia from Berlin, said Panov had been an officer in Moscow’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, assertions echoed by well-placed Cypriot insiders. While in Cyprus, Panov oversaw the embassy’s maintenance and management of espionage equipment, Khmelnitsky was quoted as saying on the Telegram channel Echo. The prospect of him wanting to defect could not be ruled out, Khmelnitsky said.

Panov’s death came within 24 hours of Vladislav Baumgertner, the former CEO of the Russian potash giant Uralkali, being reported missing in Cyprus.

By Tuesday, the search for Baumgertner, 56, had broadened to include personnel from the British sovereign base areas. The oligarch, who had been living alone on the island, was last seen in Limassol, the coastal city favoured by Russian expatriates, where he had a home. Cyprus has long been a refuge for wealthy Russians, with the community’s presence earning the country the nickname Moscow on the Med.

Vyronos, the police spokesperson, said: “The operation to find the Russian businessman is ongoing.” There was, he said, “no indication, so far, of any link between the two” cases.

One western ambassador based in Nicosia was sceptical, saying: “Conspiracy theories may abound here, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the two are linked.”

Echoing that sentiment, another EU diplomat said: “Two words come to mind. Mysterious and sinister.”

Under Cyprus’s president, Nikos Christodoulides, a former foreign minister once regarded as pro-Russian, the country has pivoted to the west, backing Ukraine since Moscow’s invasion in 2022 and upgrading ties with the US.

The Cypriot government, which has just taken over the rotating presidency of the EU, is also struggling to deal with allegations of corruption contained in an online video that has prompted top-level resignations.

Christodoulides and his closest aides have been left reeling since the eight-and-a-half minute video was posted on social media five days ago.

Cypriot officials have described the claims contained in the footage as not only “malicious” but bearing “all the hallmarks” of the hybrid attacks Russia has waged against other EU countries. Authorities have suggested the “kompromat” video, uploaded on the social media platform X, is punishment for the president’s pivot to the west, with its timing blamed squarely on the tiny member state assuming the helm of the EU.

They have also suggested that Russia is likely to have been infuriated by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, being the guest of honour at the 7 January ceremony unveiling the EU presidency.

Officials have said there is no link between the video and the death of Panov or the disappearance of Baumgertner.

But outrage over the video’s allegations of financial impropriety in the presidential palace itself shows no sign of abating.

Instead of reigning in public anger, the resignation of the chief of staff, Charalambos Charalambous – seen in one excerpt allegedly offering potential investors access to the leader in return for money – and that of the president’s wife, as head of the charity through which cash donations are alleged to have flowed – seem only to have reinforced demands for sweeping changes.

Charalambous described the video as a montage of “deliberate distortions” and “selective editing” and on Monday, Christodoulides insisted he had “nothing to fear” because his hands were clean.

“The president’s image has been heavily tarnished,” said Hubert Faustmann, a professor of history and political science at the University of Nicosia.

“Many see the government’s response as a classic deflection strategy to distract from the substance of the accusations by discrediting the source. Without doubt, this is the biggest political crisis Christodoulides has faced since assuming office.”