{"id":85088,"date":"2026-02-06T17:18:28","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T20:18:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/body-of-missing-russian-executive-found-on-cyprus-beach\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T17:18:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T20:18:28","slug":"body-of-missing-russian-executive-found-on-cyprus-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/body-of-missing-russian-executive-found-on-cyprus-beach\/","title":{"rendered":"Body of missing Russian executive found on Cyprus beach"},"content":{"rendered":"

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NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) \u2014 Authorities in Cyprus said Wednesday a body discovered last month on a beach along the country\u2019s southern coastline has been identified as the former chief executive of Russia\u2019s largest potash company who had been detained in Belarus in 2013 on charges of harming the Belarusian economy.<\/p>\n

Police on a British military base in Cyprus said DNA analysis confirm the body is that of Vladislav Baumgertner, 53, who went missing from his home in the coastal city of Limassol on Jan. 7. Baumgertner\u2019s body was found a week later on Avdimou beach. <\/p>\n

An investigation into the circumstances as well as the cause of Baumgertner\u2019s death is ongoing, according to the British Sovereign Base Areas police. Baumgertner\u2019s relatives have been notified. Avdimou lies inside one of two military bases on Cyprus that the U.K. retained after the island gained independence from British colonial rule in 1960. The bases have their own police force and courts.<\/p>\n

Baumgertner was the CEO of Uralkali when Belarusian authorities<\/a><\/span> placed him under house arrest in September 2013 after a dispute between his company and its Belarusian trading partner escalated.<\/p>\n

He was released two months later and extradited to Russia where prosecutors launched a criminal probe against him on abuse of office charges.<\/p>\n

At the time, analysts had attributed Baumgertner\u2019s arrest to retaliation for Uralkali\u2019s decision to pull out of a joint venture.<\/p>\n

Uralkali and state-owned Belarusian Potash Co. had been exporting the commodity \u2014 a key ingredient in fertilizer \u2014 through a joint venture that at the time accounted for about a quarter of the world\u2019s potash.<\/p>\n

Uralkali pulled out of the trading venture after accusing the government in Minsk of allowing the state-owned company to export potash independently. <\/p>\n

Uralkali\u2019s withdrawal left Belarusian Potash Co. with virtually no qualified staff and raised fears of a price war. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed that Uralkali and Baumgertner\u2019s actions harmed his country\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n

Baumgartner had been living in Cyprus for several years. He had reportedly been staying in an apartment above his place of business in Limassol that thousands of Russian expatriates have made their home.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n