Five Russian oligarchs found dead at their homes since January amid Ukraine war

At least five Russian oligarchs have been found dead since the country’s invasion of Ukraine began back in February, according to local media reports. The families of three entrepreneurs have also lost their lives, in what authorities have called suicide. Notably, four out of the total were linked to Gazprom- a state-controlled gas supplier which recently created headlines after cutting off supplies to Poland and Bulgaria. 

According to RIA Novosti, Leonid Shulman, a top executive at Gazprom was found dead in his cottage in Leninsky village on January 30. A suicide note was found at the scene. Almost two months later, on February 25, Alexander Tyulakov, who was also a top executive at Gazprom, was found dead in his garage. Mikhail Watford, a Russian born billionaire living in the UK was found dead at his home in Surrey. 

Russian businessman Vasily Melnikov, who owned the medical supplies company MedStom, was found dead with his family in Nizhny Novgorod in March, according to Kommersant. Earlier this month, two Russian oligarchs, Vladislav Avayev and Sergey Protosenya were also found dead at their homes.

Biden to use Russian oligarchs' assets for Ukrainians 

US President Joe Biden will request Congress for additional powers to confiscate the assets of Russian oligarchs and use them for the benefit of Ukraine, as the former Soviet state has been devastated by the Russian onslaught. As per the reports of AP News, it was announced earlier today that Biden is all set to ask Congress to authorize the federal government to use the money from the assets seized from sanctioned Russian oligarchs to aid the Ukrainian people.

This comes as last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a virtual address to leaders of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, urging them to reimburse Ukraine for its losses using earnings from Russian sanctioned property. He also stated that Russian assets that have been frozen must be utilized to rebuild Ukraine following the war, as well as to compensate other nations for their damages. At the time, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that such steps would necessitate congressional authorization.

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