Sanctioned oil executive son of Putin friend ‘dies after complaining of choking’ in elite Moscow village – latest mysterious death in Russia’s energy sector since invasion of Ukraine began

The son of the oil executive of the ‘only man Vladimir Putin trusts’ has reportedly died ‘after complaining that he was choking’ in an elite village near Moscow.

The death of the mysterious Ivan Sechin, 35 years old, heir to the wealthy Igor Sechin – the powerful head of oil giant Rosneft and one of the dictator’s closest henchmen – was mysteriously covered up for two weeks before it was revealed this week leaked out.

His is the latest of dozens of mysterious deaths – many in the energy sector – since the start of Putin’s war in Ukraine two years ago.

It comes amid speculation that the sons and daughters of Putin’s aging inner circle are poised to gain new political and business power with major personnel changes after the autocrat wins next month’s presidential election.

A source told Telegram channel VChK-OGPU – which has close contacts with law enforcement – that Sechin junior, who also worked for Rosneft and was sanctioned by Britain and other Western countries, died on February 5 from “a dislodged blood clot ‘.

The same reason was given for the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny four days ago, although there are widespread claims that the 47-year-old opposition politician was ‘killed’ on Putin’s orders.

A notary post confirming Ivan’s death was widely shared by several former Russian oligarchs who fled their native country to escape Putin’s wrath.

Ivan Sechin was the son of Igor, a former spy who knew Putin for decades and worked with him in the office of the mayor of St. Petersburg.

He was once called Putin’s de facto deputy and has led the way in breaking sanctions in his role at Rosneft.

His son was very secretive and used the pseudonym Evgeny Anatolyevich Panin, possibly to hide his wealth or for security reasons.

Channel VChK-OGPU alleged that Igor Sechin prevented the Russian Investigative Committee, the FSB and other security forces from investigating the circumstances of his son’s death.

Instead, he deployed the Rosneft Security Service, composed of “former employees of the FSB and the Investigative Committee who were personally loyal to Sechin.”

When Ivan was awarded the Order for Service to the Fatherland by Putin at the age of 26, Navalny had branded it a “mockery”, highlighting the nepotism in the dictator’s regime.

Navalny said: “What can a 25-year-old good-for-nothing, who has been working in his father’s company since March 2014 (less than a year), possibly have to offer that has been around for a long time and is worthwhile?”

Nearly all photos of Ivan Sechin have been deleted, with only one photo reportedly of him.

He was believed to be in good health and died at his country house in the elite Europa-1 village in Krasnogorsk.

The address was previously identified by Bloomberg as “a home for President Putin’s associates.”

The Telegram channel said: ‘About 4:30 am on the night of February 5, 35-year-old Ivan complained that he felt bad and was choking. The man fell on the bed and lost consciousness.

“The people around him carried Ivan to the ground and tried to perform primary resuscitation measures. At the same time, Ivan Sechin’s guard called an ambulance.

“When the ambulance arrived on the scene, the doctors could only determine Ivan’s death.”

He was buried three days later.

Before his death, Ivan worked as a manager on offshore projects and accompanied his father on foreign trips.

He graduated from Moscow State University and previously worked as an analyst at Kremlin-friendly Gazprombank before joining his father at Rosneft.

When Navalny criticized Putin’s award of Ivan “because of his great contribution to the development of the fuel and energy complex and many years of conscientious work,” Rosneft responded that he was a “mature man” worthy of an honor, even if he’s only 26.

Although the Sechin family is forced to hide their grief, Rosneft continues to rake in the profits.

Russia’s biggest oil producer on Monday reported a 47.2% rise in 2023 net profit to 1.3 trillion rubles ($14.07 billion) and said it was building up its gas production capacity despite external restrictions on oil.

The West has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia’s energy exports in a bid to deprive the Kremlin of crucial oil and gas revenues after Moscow sent its military into Ukraine in February 2022.

Rosneft said crude oil and gas condensate production totaled 193.6 million tonnes in 2023, without making a comparison with 2022.

Total hydrocarbon production last year was 269.8 million tonnes, including 92.7 billion cubic meters of gas.

“As a result of strict cost control and efforts to improve efficiency, the unit cost of hydrocarbon production fell to $2.6/boe by the end of 2023,” Igor Sechin said in a statement.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 17.8% to 3.0 trillion rubles, while revenue rose 1.3% to 9.2 trillion rubles.

Sechin directed thinly veiled criticism at Russia’s central bank in a statement, after previously criticizing the bank in late 2023 as successive rate hikes pushed the cost of borrowing to its current level of 16%.

“Due to rising interest rates from the second half of the year, the company turned its attention to reducing overall debt burden,” Sechin said.

“Interest expenses rose partly due to increases in the Bank of Russia’s policy rate and further increases in interest margins by banks, which resulted in the growth of banking sector profits to record levels in 2023,” Sechin said.