Russian investigators close murder case against Putin-linked businessman and his partner
Russia's Investigative Committee has closed the murder case against all suspects in the 2020 killing of St Petersburg businessman Alexander Petrov, including Vladimir Danilenko, who has been released from custody.
Russian investigators have dropped criminal proceedings against several people who were suspected of involvement in the 2020 murder of Alexander Petrov, a St Petersburg businessman and municipal deputy. The news was reported by the St Petersburg-based outlet Fontanka, business media RBC, and state agencies RIA Novosti and TASS.
Vladimir Danilenko, a longtime business partner of St Petersburg businessman Ilya Traber, has been released from pretrial detention. According to Fontanka, the case against Danilenko was closed because his involvement in the murder was not confirmed.
The Investigative Committee also closed the cases against all other individuals named in the Petrov murder investigation. Sources told RBC and Fontanka that investigators found contradictions in the testimony of former prisoner of war Igor Lykov, which was described as inconsistent. That testimony had partly formed the basis for the charges.
In addition to Traber and Danilenko, the case named Alisultan Nadirbegov and Said Saladinov, both natives of Dagestan, who investigators believed had carried out the killing. All those named in the case are now entitled to exoneration and compensation for emotional distress and financial losses caused by their time in custody.
Traber is a businessman considered close to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the early stages of Putin's career in St Petersburg. In the 1990s, he controlled the port of St Petersburg and the St Petersburg Oil Terminal, the largest oil-products transshipment facility in the Baltic region.
Traber was detained on June 17 on suspicion of involvement in Petrov's murder. He was taken to Moscow the same day, and a court ordered him held in pretrial detention. His longtime partner Danilenko was sent to a detention center shortly afterward. In late August, the Investigative Committee dropped the case against Traber due to his complete lack of involvement. He was released and returned to St Petersburg.
