WEBVTT - A Business Assassination with a Non-lethal Firearm 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:05.080 Something strange is going on. Who is killing Russian billionaires? 0:00:05.400 --> 0:00:08.640 Another Russian oligarch has been found dead. Reports suggests that 0:00:08.720 --> 0:00:12.160 he hanged himself, fell out of a window, slashed his wrists, 0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:14.520 was poisoned, murdered his whole family. 0:00:15.960 --> 0:00:18.840 Last gm more than a dozen Russian oligarchs died in 0:00:18.880 --> 0:00:22.239 the space of nine months. Many of the deaths are 0:00:22.320 --> 0:00:27.120 suspicious with links to the Kremlin. This is sad Oligach, 0:00:27.440 --> 0:00:30.280 an investigation into these recently. 0:00:29.880 --> 0:00:31.320 Dead Russian billionaires. 0:00:31.800 --> 0:00:36.080 It's created by me Jake Hanrahan and my colleague Sergei Slipchenkov. 0:00:37.200 --> 0:00:40.600 Sad Oligach is a H eleven production for Kulso Media 0:00:40.680 --> 0:00:55.120 and Ieheart Radio. July fourth, twenty twenty two, lenning Grad region, 0:00:55.200 --> 0:01:01.440 near Saint Petersburg, multimillionaire Russian businessman Yuri Voronov sixty one, 0:01:01.960 --> 0:01:03.720 is taking a swim in his pool at one of 0:01:03.720 --> 0:01:08.440 his luxury properties. This one a cottage mansion in the 0:01:08.440 --> 0:01:12.880 wealthy Marine Terraces. Area is surrounded by tall trees in Greenland. 0:01:14.160 --> 0:01:17.800 Any urban developments are miles away. It's a peaceful area 0:01:17.920 --> 0:01:21.959 for rich folk who don't want to be disturbed. As 0:01:22.000 --> 0:01:26.520 Juri Voronov goes about is downtime, swimming, lounging around relaxing. 0:01:27.000 --> 0:01:29.520 A man with a gun is sneaking through the trees. 0:01:31.880 --> 0:01:35.760 He's headed to Voronov's place. Voronov is stood by the 0:01:35.800 --> 0:01:40.919 side of his pool. The gunman sneaks inside the house, 0:01:41.319 --> 0:01:44.759 steps out to the pool area and raises his gun 0:01:44.920 --> 0:01:50.600 to Voronov. He pulls the trigger, several shots ring out. 0:01:51.480 --> 0:01:54.640 Voronov is hit once in the head. He falls back 0:01:54.720 --> 0:02:00.320 into the pool dead. The gunman strangely throws them murder 0:02:00.360 --> 0:02:03.440 weapon into the pool and leaves the bullet casings on 0:02:03.480 --> 0:02:08.160 the floor before running off back into the trees. At 0:02:08.200 --> 0:02:11.840 two pm, Voronov is found floating in the now red 0:02:11.919 --> 0:02:17.400 water of his swimming pool. Those were the last moments 0:02:17.440 --> 0:02:20.920 of Yuri Voronov, or at least that's the main story. 0:02:21.520 --> 0:02:25.800 The other theory is that Voronov committed suicide. He fired 0:02:25.800 --> 0:02:29.240 the gun several times, which left the multiple casings on 0:02:29.280 --> 0:02:32.800 the floor. He then shot himself in the head before 0:02:32.840 --> 0:02:37.040 falling into the pool. Now to me, this doesn't really 0:02:37.080 --> 0:02:40.800 make much sense, but it's worth mentioning because news of 0:02:40.800 --> 0:02:44.840 this shooting in Russia quickly drifted off into the ether. 0:02:45.800 --> 0:02:49.200 A multi millionaire was found dead in his pool with 0:02:49.440 --> 0:02:52.200 several bullet casings and the gun left at the scene, 0:02:52.600 --> 0:02:57.280 but state media largely went quiet on it after that. Essentially, 0:02:57.400 --> 0:03:01.560 the possibility of suicide was left in the air when 0:03:01.560 --> 0:03:06.120 the reality is this doesn't look much like a suicide. 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:08.560 The only indication that it might not be a hit 0:03:09.160 --> 0:03:12.239 is that apparently the gunman wasn't picked up on security 0:03:12.280 --> 0:03:18.640 cameras at Voronov's home. That's what Russian Knew says anyway. 0:03:18.680 --> 0:03:23.680 Before his untimely death at his luxury Leningrad cottage, Yurivoranov 0:03:23.800 --> 0:03:28.440 owned a major logistics company called Astra Shipping. They dealt 0:03:28.480 --> 0:03:34.600 with construction installations and of course, shipping projects. Astra had 0:03:34.720 --> 0:03:38.320 lucrative contracts with two major firms we've come across already 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:43.600 in this series, Gazprom and Luke Koyok, the two largest 0:03:43.680 --> 0:03:47.440 oil and gas companies in Russia. By the time of 0:03:47.480 --> 0:03:52.040 his death. This made Voronov the fourth Gazprom linked business 0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:56.960 executive to die in twenty twenty two. By twenty twenty three, 0:03:57.440 --> 0:04:03.720 there'd be many more. So, Sergiy, what do we know 0:04:04.000 --> 0:04:09.200 about Voronov's company, Astra Shipping and it's various connections to 0:04:09.680 --> 0:04:11.160 Gazprom luke Oil. 0:04:11.400 --> 0:04:14.720 From what I'm seeing, it's a separate company, but everywhere 0:04:14.760 --> 0:04:17.719 it's referred to as like a contractor of gas Prom. 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:21.839 They actually have other companies that they claim it's just 0:04:21.880 --> 0:04:24.400 as partners. So I mean, I don't know exactly what 0:04:24.400 --> 0:04:26.800 they do, but I'm assuming just people they work with. 0:04:27.520 --> 0:04:31.800 It includes a bunch of other gas company including Louke Oil. 0:04:32.200 --> 0:04:35.479 They do summer Arctic shipping. At the time that was 0:04:36.240 --> 0:04:38.880 basically about four months in the summer where you can 0:04:39.000 --> 0:04:42.359 use the northern shipping routes above Russia. It's starting to 0:04:42.360 --> 0:04:43.560 be a bit more often. 0:04:43.279 --> 0:04:48.039 Now so Uri Voronov's Astra Shipping company would take tankers 0:04:48.080 --> 0:04:53.920 through Arctic seas, moving equipment, materials and freight for Gazprom 0:04:54.040 --> 0:04:57.200 and luke Oil, who they were partnered with. This is 0:04:57.240 --> 0:05:02.000 of course a very big job. Creative contracts Astra Shipping 0:05:02.040 --> 0:05:05.160 had with the gas and oil companies put a lot 0:05:05.320 --> 0:05:09.160 of money into play, both to be made and lost 0:05:09.480 --> 0:05:13.479 if anything was mishandled. Voronov seems to have been very 0:05:13.560 --> 0:05:16.680 much involved with all facets of the business. 0:05:16.760 --> 0:05:18.400 It seems like he was the only one in charge. 0:05:18.480 --> 0:05:21.200 He was a director, but like basically in charge of 0:05:21.200 --> 0:05:24.120 the company. From what I can tell, it hasn't been updated, 0:05:24.240 --> 0:05:28.320 nobody's taken over. That's pretty much has been abandoned since 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:31.600 he died. And yeah, the company in the last two 0:05:31.680 --> 0:05:36.320 years lost about one hundred and sixty million rubles. It 0:05:36.360 --> 0:05:41.240 wasn't super profitable before, like it made a couple of 0:05:41.279 --> 0:05:43.800 million here there. I think it was most profitable in 0:05:43.800 --> 0:05:46.600 twenty seventeen, But in the last two years they were 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:49.680 just straight up losing. Like I think it was nineteen 0:05:49.760 --> 0:05:53.160 million in one year and then sixty the next something 0:05:53.200 --> 0:05:53.520 like that. 0:05:53.920 --> 0:05:58.680 Voronov's Astra Shipping was losing money handover fist. Now, one 0:05:58.680 --> 0:06:02.600 thing to understand is is that when multimillionaires have one 0:06:02.680 --> 0:06:05.880 business that's losing money, it's not the same if your 0:06:05.920 --> 0:06:10.600 average non rich person loses money. Losing money is often 0:06:10.720 --> 0:06:13.840 part of the ups and downs of big business, and 0:06:13.880 --> 0:06:19.560 sometimes it's orchestrated that way for tax dodging purposes. Voronov, 0:06:19.640 --> 0:06:23.320 it seems, though, was under a lot of pressure. This 0:06:23.520 --> 0:06:27.799 was serious, This was real. He was apparently drinking heavily 0:06:27.880 --> 0:06:31.080 in the run up to his murder and complaining regularly 0:06:31.200 --> 0:06:35.479 to his wife about problems within his business. She told 0:06:35.520 --> 0:06:40.000 Russian investigators that Voronov believed he'd been conned by contractors 0:06:40.320 --> 0:06:43.240 and business partners he worked with. He said to his 0:06:43.320 --> 0:06:47.719 wife that they'd quote behaved dishonorably. He was also arguing 0:06:47.720 --> 0:06:49.320 with people on the phone. 0:06:49.080 --> 0:06:52.160 His wife said, before he went off to the cottage, 0:06:52.560 --> 0:06:56.400 he was arguing with someone over losing money or owing money, 0:06:56.600 --> 0:06:57.680 something along those lines. 0:06:58.200 --> 0:07:01.280 There were no more specific details on this, but if 0:07:01.320 --> 0:07:05.320 the partners Voronov was angry about are at Gazprom, one 0:07:05.360 --> 0:07:12.120 of his major contracts, this is likely relevant. Remember, Gazprom 0:07:12.320 --> 0:07:15.560 is a major earner for the Kremlin, who owns forty 0:07:15.680 --> 0:07:20.080 nine percent of it. In twenty twenty two, Gazprom paid 0:07:20.120 --> 0:07:24.600 the Kremlin and extra eleven billion dollars after record profits 0:07:24.680 --> 0:07:29.280 of forty five billion dollars. It seems invading Ukraine was 0:07:29.480 --> 0:07:34.240 very profitable for the Kremlin gas giant. As we've covered 0:07:34.280 --> 0:07:39.240 already in this series, you don't mess with Gazprom. Doing 0:07:39.280 --> 0:07:44.280 so can have you feeling depressed and suicidal and unsteady 0:07:44.400 --> 0:07:48.920 near high windows. There's no indication though that Juri Voronov 0:07:49.120 --> 0:07:53.600 was messing with Gazprom. If anything, there's more possible signs 0:07:53.880 --> 0:07:57.560 that it was the other way around. Perhaps Voronov was 0:07:57.560 --> 0:08:03.640 involved in something else and me discussed this. The thing is, okay, 0:08:03.640 --> 0:08:06.720 if your business starts losing money and you're making money 0:08:07.360 --> 0:08:11.120 within the law, you go bankrupt. You know, you don't 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:14.720 generally end up killed a mysterious circumstances, Like. 0:08:14.920 --> 0:08:16.080 You said, yeah, Like you know, there's a lot of 0:08:16.160 --> 0:08:20.280 companies that they have better years, worse years. They lose money, 0:08:20.280 --> 0:08:23.320 they bounce back. A bunch of companies lost money during COVID, 0:08:23.360 --> 0:08:26.160 which is when this company lost money. 0:08:26.480 --> 0:08:29.840 Now this is interesting, as Surgery said, looking at the 0:08:29.880 --> 0:08:33.679 profit records, it's clear that Astra Shipping began to lose 0:08:33.720 --> 0:08:37.360 money during the COVID pandemic, which spread first in twenty 0:08:37.440 --> 0:08:40.440 twenty one. The thing is shipping was one of the 0:08:40.520 --> 0:08:46.360 few industries that thrived during COVID. Ocean freights carriers pulled 0:08:46.360 --> 0:08:51.000 in estimated profits of one hundred and fifty billion dollars 0:08:51.040 --> 0:08:55.240 in twenty twenty one. So what happened with Astra Shipping. 0:08:56.679 --> 0:08:59.240 They had contracts with some of the biggest oil and 0:08:59.280 --> 0:09:02.559 gas companies in the world, and yet managed to lose 0:09:02.640 --> 0:09:05.680 money in the midst of a shipping company gold rush. 0:09:06.080 --> 0:09:07.800 Something doesn't add up. 0:09:08.880 --> 0:09:12.400 Maybe This is connected to what Yuri Voronov's wife said 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:16.199 he was so angry about maybe a deal went wrong 0:09:16.600 --> 0:09:20.680 and Voronov ended up enraging people you don't want to enrage. 0:09:21.920 --> 0:09:25.000 Was found dead in his pool with multiple casings on 0:09:25.040 --> 0:09:27.960 the floor and one bullet in his head. 0:09:28.440 --> 0:09:29.720 As we said before. 0:09:29.480 --> 0:09:32.880 Though no one was caught on the security cameras when 0:09:32.880 --> 0:09:34.080 this happened. 0:09:33.880 --> 0:09:38.280 There was cameras like in the pool surrounding the property, 0:09:38.720 --> 0:09:40.520 and so it's kind of like, you know, if somebody 0:09:40.559 --> 0:09:44.040 killed him and the cameras are there and they weren't 0:09:44.120 --> 0:09:47.680 like tempered with, it should be pretty clear cut to 0:09:47.720 --> 0:09:50.840 see like what happened, right, But then they just mentioned 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:55.079 that there was cameras and uscations ongoing and no updates since. 0:09:55.480 --> 0:09:57.920 Yeah, And I mean, I don't want to jump the gun, 0:09:57.960 --> 0:10:02.320 but the fact that they say nobody was caught on 0:10:02.400 --> 0:10:07.360 the cameras suggest to me that maybe they kind of know, 0:10:07.520 --> 0:10:09.720 or at least they think that there was someone because 0:10:09.760 --> 0:10:12.840 if it was, okay, this is a straight suicide, I 0:10:12.880 --> 0:10:14.600 just don't think they would even mention it. Why would 0:10:14.640 --> 0:10:16.679 you mention that no one was caught on the cameras 0:10:16.840 --> 0:10:19.560 if someone just lit themselves up at home. 0:10:19.720 --> 0:10:21.880 They have camera footage. You look at that and you 0:10:21.920 --> 0:10:24.520 can tell what happened, like it's pretty clear. It should 0:10:24.559 --> 0:10:26.640 be pretty clear cut, you know. It's kind of hard 0:10:26.679 --> 0:10:29.119 to imagine that they were so perfect that they avoided 0:10:29.440 --> 0:10:33.000 all the security, all the cameras shot a guy nobody 0:10:33.160 --> 0:10:35.800 heard or found out, and got away with it too. 0:10:36.080 --> 0:10:38.720 A lot of things had to work out perfectly to 0:10:38.760 --> 0:10:39.959 just completely get away with this. 0:10:40.520 --> 0:10:45.040 Well, yeah, that or someone was paid to basically make 0:10:45.120 --> 0:10:48.880 the camera footage disappear. If we look at other things 0:10:49.040 --> 0:10:51.960 that have happened in the cases we've looked at, for example, 0:10:52.040 --> 0:10:56.000 someone's in a rich gaid community they've found hanged and 0:10:56.760 --> 0:11:00.280 literally gazprom security or able to push the police out, 0:11:00.800 --> 0:11:03.040 I think that kind of activity suggests to me at 0:11:03.080 --> 0:11:05.760 least that it's not actually that far fetched that, yeah, 0:11:05.800 --> 0:11:09.599 someone could have easily got paid off. Someone could have 0:11:09.679 --> 0:11:13.640 just said, hey, don't worry about looking at those cameras tonight. 0:11:13.679 --> 0:11:16.160 I don't know. I don't think that's too far out 0:11:16.160 --> 0:11:17.280 of the realms of possibility. 0:11:17.360 --> 0:11:19.960 It doesn't even have to be any like conspiracy theory. 0:11:20.040 --> 0:11:24.280 Everybody's working together. Like in Russia, it's pretty common to 0:11:24.280 --> 0:11:27.320 give bribes for stuff. They honestly could have just been like, hey, 0:11:27.320 --> 0:11:30.080 here's some money, gave me the recordings, don't think about it. 0:11:30.120 --> 0:11:32.640 Of course, we don't know if that happens, but that's 0:11:32.840 --> 0:11:34.520 completely within the realm of possibility. 0:11:35.200 --> 0:11:38.600 Of course, this is just speculation at this point, but 0:11:38.720 --> 0:11:40.880 I think it's valid when you look at the other 0:11:40.960 --> 0:11:46.000 mysterious deaths we've already covered. Still, though things are unclear, 0:11:46.640 --> 0:11:51.520 Voronov was having money problems, blaming business partners and contractors. 0:11:51.880 --> 0:11:53.800 He then ends up floating in his pool with a 0:11:53.840 --> 0:11:56.960 bullet in his head, with multiple shots fired, and the 0:11:57.000 --> 0:12:02.480 authorities seemingly disinterested in the case. So we looked into 0:12:02.600 --> 0:12:05.719 the business records of Voronov to see if they might 0:12:05.760 --> 0:12:09.600 reveal any new information related to his death. Again, there 0:12:09.640 --> 0:12:12.240 was little out there, so on a long shot, we 0:12:12.480 --> 0:12:16.600 checked to see if Voronov was mentioned in the Panama Papers. 0:12:17.000 --> 0:12:20.120 Turns out he was, or at least the name is 0:12:20.160 --> 0:12:24.240 in there, attached to several shell companies. We couldn't confirm 0:12:24.280 --> 0:12:26.960 if it's the same Yuri Voronov as the one we're 0:12:27.000 --> 0:12:28.240 talking about, but. 0:12:28.280 --> 0:12:29.760 It does look likely. 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:51.200 Now if you forgot what the Panama Papers are or 0:12:51.240 --> 0:12:55.240 haven't heard of them at all. That's probably because most 0:12:55.280 --> 0:12:58.680 of the people named in them completely got away with 0:12:58.800 --> 0:13:05.319 their crimes. There were no legal consequences for almost everyone involved. 0:13:06.880 --> 0:13:10.959 The Panama Papers were published on April third, twenty sixteen, 0:13:11.520 --> 0:13:16.319 and they contain eleven point five million confidential documents from 0:13:16.400 --> 0:13:22.880 Panamanium law firm Mossak Fonseca. These documents detail how rich 0:13:22.920 --> 0:13:26.560 people across the world had been using secretive offshore bank 0:13:26.600 --> 0:13:32.080 accounts for illegal purposes such as tax evasion and fraud. Often, 0:13:32.160 --> 0:13:35.240 shell companies were used to hide money or quietly move 0:13:35.240 --> 0:13:38.920 it around. The shell company is a firm that's kept 0:13:39.040 --> 0:13:43.560 dormant and used if and when various financial maneuvers need 0:13:43.600 --> 0:13:46.800 to be cycled through it, usually to mask the original 0:13:46.880 --> 0:13:50.880 source of the funds. The shell company has no other purpose. 0:13:51.760 --> 0:13:55.760 In the Panama Papers, a Moscow based businessman named Yuri 0:13:56.040 --> 0:14:00.760 Voronov is linked to several shell companies, including one called 0:14:00.840 --> 0:14:07.559 Tembusu Holdings. Tembusu Holdings was incorporated on May third, twenty seventeen, 0:14:08.080 --> 0:14:14.280 and currently has two active directors. Interestingly, the latest confirmation 0:14:14.440 --> 0:14:18.760 statement for this usually dormant company was submitted May second, 0:14:18.920 --> 0:14:23.360 twenty twenty three, ten months after the death of Yurivoronov. 0:14:23.880 --> 0:14:27.000 The Voronov named in the papers also has a shell 0:14:27.040 --> 0:14:30.960 company called Gavin Consultants, which is based in the British 0:14:31.080 --> 0:14:35.720 Virgin Islands and banks in Switzerland. The British Virgin Islands 0:14:35.880 --> 0:14:38.640 is a tax haven for the rich and powerful. The 0:14:38.680 --> 0:14:41.520 Council of the European Union has placed the region on 0:14:41.560 --> 0:14:46.640 a blacklist of non cooperative tax jurisdictions. So if you're 0:14:46.720 --> 0:14:49.440 rich and you want to avoid tax, that's the place 0:14:49.480 --> 0:14:52.600 to do it. Now, it's not at all unusual that 0:14:52.680 --> 0:14:56.840 some unworth millions will be named in the Panama papers. However, 0:14:56.920 --> 0:15:00.400 if the Yurivoronov named in them is our guy, I 0:15:00.480 --> 0:15:04.760 think it's unlikely he committed suicide due to loss of earnings. 0:15:05.600 --> 0:15:08.800 Clearly he had his fingers in many different pies and 0:15:09.120 --> 0:15:13.040 likely had a huge amount of money spirited away all 0:15:13.120 --> 0:15:17.880 across the world in secret accounts. Pretty Much every multi 0:15:17.880 --> 0:15:23.360 millionaire has this in some capacity. Now, let's take a 0:15:23.400 --> 0:15:30.000 look at something more tangible the murder weapon. Yurivoronov was 0:15:30.040 --> 0:15:32.960 shot dead with a Grand Power T twelve handgun. 0:15:33.400 --> 0:15:34.280 This is weird. 0:15:34.800 --> 0:15:39.760 The T twelve fires less lethal rounds rubber bullet. This 0:15:39.920 --> 0:15:43.760 is not a gun manufactured to kill. However, the T 0:15:43.760 --> 0:15:48.360 twelve Voronov was shot with was converted to fire live rounds. 0:15:49.720 --> 0:15:52.400 If he was going to shoot himself, why as a 0:15:52.520 --> 0:15:56.040 rich man, would Voronov go through the trouble of purchasing 0:15:56.080 --> 0:16:00.720 a less lethal firing gun and then convert it. Frankly, 0:16:00.840 --> 0:16:04.280 there are much easier ways to commit suicide. 0:16:04.440 --> 0:16:04.720 Now. 0:16:04.760 --> 0:16:07.680 I've been around a ton of firearms due to my 0:16:07.800 --> 0:16:11.880 work reporting on war and conflict across the world, and 0:16:12.000 --> 0:16:17.080 I've never seen even militias or rebels using specifically converted 0:16:17.200 --> 0:16:18.720 less lethal guns. 0:16:18.400 --> 0:16:19.479 In their actions. 0:16:20.000 --> 0:16:23.720 Even gorilla forces with limited funding can get their hands 0:16:23.760 --> 0:16:25.160 on proper firearms. 0:16:25.600 --> 0:16:27.240 Where there's a will, there's a way. 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:31.240 In my opinion, there's just no way Voronov wouldn't have 0:16:31.280 --> 0:16:34.840 been able to purchase a real gun for himself. It's 0:16:34.880 --> 0:16:38.000 not that hard in Russia. It's not that hard anywhere 0:16:38.040 --> 0:16:40.280 if you've got the cash and you know the right people. 0:16:41.600 --> 0:16:43.880 So to get a better idea of what's. 0:16:43.680 --> 0:16:47.240 Going on with this converted T twelve Voronov was shot with, 0:16:47.840 --> 0:16:52.400 I spoke to Bernardo Paz from War nowir Wunawa is 0:16:52.440 --> 0:16:57.640 an independent media outlet focused on identifying illicit firearms across 0:16:57.680 --> 0:17:02.640 the world. What have you found about this Grand Power 0:17:03.040 --> 0:17:08.320 T twelve, this gun that Uri Vornov was shot with. 0:17:08.560 --> 0:17:11.680 Basically, I can say that the Grand Power pistols are 0:17:11.680 --> 0:17:14.679 generally are actually quite common in the region, and the 0:17:14.760 --> 0:17:19.000 Model T twelve is actually a less little pistol. It 0:17:19.119 --> 0:17:23.280 basically produced to fire rubber bullets. It's quite easy to 0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:27.000 convert these pistols to fire li runs. You know, you 0:17:27.040 --> 0:17:30.040 can basically convert a blank firing pistol or a traumatic 0:17:30.040 --> 0:17:31.359 pistol into a real one. 0:17:31.640 --> 0:17:36.760 So why would somebody convert a less lethal gun to 0:17:36.840 --> 0:17:39.680 shoot live rounds to then commit an assassination? 0:17:39.800 --> 0:17:40.359 Do you think? 0:17:41.119 --> 0:17:45.240 Well, first of all, not only traumatic pistols, but blank 0:17:45.240 --> 0:17:48.080 firing pistols as well. These are very easy to get 0:17:48.119 --> 0:17:51.879 and they are much more cheaper than when compared to 0:17:51.920 --> 0:17:55.600 other real pistols. That's the main reasons why many people 0:17:56.920 --> 0:18:01.120 prefer buying less lethal or blank firing pistols and convert 0:18:01.160 --> 0:18:04.480 them into the real ones. It's very easy to access them, 0:18:04.520 --> 0:18:07.480 you know, they're really cheap, and in some cases they 0:18:07.560 --> 0:18:11.600 can't be traced back to the real owner. And if 0:18:11.600 --> 0:18:15.800 the modification which I mean to convert it into a 0:18:15.800 --> 0:18:18.680 real pistol. Of course, if a good gun submit does 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:22.480 these modifications, and these pistols can be quite reliable for 0:18:22.640 --> 0:18:23.600 short term usage. 0:18:23.760 --> 0:18:27.040 Really, so it's it's not such a big job to 0:18:27.080 --> 0:18:27.680 convert it. 0:18:27.920 --> 0:18:31.040 Now, if you have the required tools and if you 0:18:31.200 --> 0:18:34.040 know what are you doing, it's quite easy. 0:18:34.440 --> 0:18:39.680 Some people have a theory that this guy wasn't shot, 0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:43.760 he killed himself, despite the fact that there were several rounds, 0:18:43.800 --> 0:18:48.040 Like several shots were fired. This guy was a multi millionaire. 0:18:48.680 --> 0:18:54.600 I can't see why a multi millionaire would have a 0:18:54.680 --> 0:19:00.000 less lethal gun and then convert it to then show himself. 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:03.160 That seems unusual to me. What do you think, Yeah, well, 0:19:03.240 --> 0:19:04.520 it doesn't make sense. 0:19:04.720 --> 0:19:08.240 If he wanted to kill himself, he wouldn't get a 0:19:08.320 --> 0:19:10.520 less little pistol converted into real one. 0:19:10.960 --> 0:19:12.080 Yeah, it's weird. Right. 0:19:13.040 --> 0:19:15.959 Where are these guns manufactured? What do we know about them? 0:19:16.000 --> 0:19:17.919 I read that it's a Russian gun, but then I 0:19:17.920 --> 0:19:20.679 also aware that it's it was made in Slovakia, but 0:19:20.720 --> 0:19:23.920 some of them are made the TI twelve made in Russia. 0:19:25.200 --> 0:19:26.040 What's the reality that. 0:19:26.400 --> 0:19:30.520 Yeah, in general, the brand is originated from Slovakia. However, 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:35.520 these pistols are exported to many countries, including Russia, any 0:19:35.560 --> 0:19:37.760 country you name it. They are quite easy to find 0:19:37.800 --> 0:19:41.520 in many countries. They can be considered quite cheap brand 0:19:41.840 --> 0:19:45.479 when you compare to other brands. They're also quite common 0:19:45.760 --> 0:19:49.480 among some non state armed groups in Russia as well. 0:19:49.600 --> 0:19:53.200 It's not originated from Russia, but it's common in there too. 0:19:53.520 --> 0:19:55.959 The gunpower has a branch in Russia too. 0:19:56.359 --> 0:20:01.159 This is particularly important as pass just said, converted grand 0:20:01.160 --> 0:20:05.119 power T twelves are common enough amongst non state armed 0:20:05.160 --> 0:20:09.679 groups in Russia, specifically in this instance, he's talking about 0:20:09.800 --> 0:20:13.919 armed criminal organizations. This is sounding more and more like 0:20:14.000 --> 0:20:17.080 a hit that someone paid for Voronov to be killed 0:20:17.359 --> 0:20:20.960 due to whichever dispute was bothering him before his death. 0:20:21.720 --> 0:20:26.960 Once the gun is converted from the less lethal defense 0:20:27.000 --> 0:20:32.040 gun into a live round firing gun like a a gun, 0:20:32.560 --> 0:20:33.440 what rounds. 0:20:33.160 --> 0:20:35.160 Do they shoot? What bullets will it shoot? Then? 0:20:35.560 --> 0:20:39.920 Well, it is almost impossible to say anything definite because 0:20:40.240 --> 0:20:43.520 that can be different warrants. But I can say that 0:20:44.760 --> 0:20:49.840 most of the converted guns are usually chambered in torty 0:20:49.880 --> 0:20:50.480 two ACP. 0:20:51.440 --> 0:20:52.840 Toty two ACP. 0:20:54.000 --> 0:20:58.880 Is a name for the ammunition that seven point six 0:20:58.960 --> 0:21:02.720 to five. They were quite common in some countries. You know, 0:21:03.040 --> 0:21:06.400 some brownique pistols, water pistols are shambled in this runt. 0:21:06.480 --> 0:21:10.639 It's basically much smaller than nine millimeters and they're easy 0:21:10.720 --> 0:21:13.560 to fit to make signe and the pistol when you 0:21:13.640 --> 0:21:17.080 rebel it. It's spread common in many countries, including Krushia. 0:21:17.560 --> 0:21:17.760 Right. 0:21:18.600 --> 0:21:22.760 I just it's really odd to me that anyone, whether 0:21:22.800 --> 0:21:26.240 they kill themselves or whether someone goes to kill someone, 0:21:26.920 --> 0:21:30.040 that they would use a converted pistol. I mean, it's 0:21:30.040 --> 0:21:33.120 not exactly hard to get hold of a gun in Russia. 0:21:33.160 --> 0:21:35.600 It's not hard to get hold of a gun really anywhere. 0:21:36.040 --> 0:21:37.119 Have you any theories. 0:21:36.880 --> 0:21:39.119 As to why they would have would have used this 0:21:39.240 --> 0:21:40.359 weapon to kill somebody with? 0:21:41.119 --> 0:21:45.120 Yeah, First of all, they might have chosen this pistol 0:21:45.359 --> 0:21:50.160 because they may want to abandoned pistols or destroy it 0:21:50.600 --> 0:21:52.520 as soon as they carry out the assassination. 0:21:53.080 --> 0:21:56.919 So, according to Puz, who dedicates his time to identifying 0:21:57.000 --> 0:22:01.280 firearms and understanding their use in a specific text, converted 0:22:01.320 --> 0:22:04.239 T twelve is useful if you want to commit an 0:22:04.280 --> 0:22:08.560 assassination and then dispose of the weapon. Remember, this is 0:22:08.640 --> 0:22:12.439 exactly what happened at Voronov's cottage. He was shot and 0:22:12.480 --> 0:22:15.159 the gun was thrown into the pool with him, But 0:22:15.320 --> 0:22:18.240 why would you leave the gun there at the actual scene? 0:22:19.080 --> 0:22:21.360 Guns can be often traced back to the person who 0:22:21.480 --> 0:22:24.800 used it, apparently, though not so much if it's a 0:22:24.880 --> 0:22:27.160 converted less lethal gun. 0:22:27.720 --> 0:22:32.480 Chasing the countered pistols, you know, it's more hard to 0:22:32.560 --> 0:22:35.680 chase it compared to the real pistols. So these are 0:22:35.720 --> 0:22:38.680 the most common theories in my opinion. 0:22:39.200 --> 0:22:40.240 That's really interesting. 0:22:40.760 --> 0:22:42.760 It might interest you to know as well that once 0:22:43.640 --> 0:22:46.480 the shooter, which it's pretty clear to me that the 0:22:46.720 --> 0:22:50.479 guy was shot by somebody, once the shooter shot this 0:22:50.520 --> 0:22:54.680 oligarch fella, they threw the gun into the swimming pool. 0:22:54.680 --> 0:22:56.320 They didn't take it with them, They threw it, they 0:22:56.320 --> 0:22:57.040 discarded it. 0:22:57.280 --> 0:22:59.679 If it was a real gun, let's say, a Beretta 0:22:59.760 --> 0:23:02.480 or a Carol, let's say, it would be much more 0:23:02.480 --> 0:23:06.800 easier to check this pistol to original owner, Mitch. Might 0:23:06.840 --> 0:23:09.760 it cause some more problems for the guy who shut 0:23:09.760 --> 0:23:11.040 the oligarch in the pool? 0:23:11.080 --> 0:23:14.600 You know, right, I don't know if it's any bearing 0:23:14.640 --> 0:23:17.520 on it. But do you know if chlorinated water, you know, 0:23:17.640 --> 0:23:20.200 the pool, would that have any kind of relevance in 0:23:20.560 --> 0:23:22.720 removing any forensics from a gun or anything. 0:23:22.760 --> 0:23:26.640 Do you think, well, I don't think that the pul 0:23:26.720 --> 0:23:31.360 water or the chemical compounds related to topic. I think 0:23:31.400 --> 0:23:34.400 they basically wanted to dispose the pistol because it would 0:23:34.440 --> 0:23:37.520 be more easy to claim that the guy shut himself. 0:23:38.119 --> 0:23:41.000 I think Pezz is onto something here. It's looking more 0:23:41.040 --> 0:23:44.399 and more like the converted Grand Power T twelve is 0:23:44.440 --> 0:24:06.720 a perfect gun for a quick assassination. It's easy to 0:24:06.760 --> 0:24:10.440 buy in Russia, easy to convert, it's common, there's load 0:24:10.440 --> 0:24:13.240 of them in circulation, and it's hard to trace it. 0:24:13.240 --> 0:24:14.160 Back to anyone. 0:24:15.080 --> 0:24:17.840 Maybe the business partners who Voronov told his wife were 0:24:17.960 --> 0:24:23.040 quote behaving dishonorably went a step further into their Dishonor 0:24:23.760 --> 0:24:25.880 maybe they hired a hitman from one of the many 0:24:25.920 --> 0:24:30.800 criminal networks in Russia to murder Voronov. Perhaps they told 0:24:30.800 --> 0:24:33.760 the guy to make it look like a suicide. The 0:24:33.760 --> 0:24:37.119 gunman messed up. He chose a gun that wouldn't be 0:24:37.160 --> 0:24:40.680 traced back to him, the converted T twelve, because he'd 0:24:40.720 --> 0:24:43.240 leave the murder weapon at the scene to make. 0:24:43.119 --> 0:24:44.680 It look like a suicide. 0:24:45.080 --> 0:24:48.480 In choosing the T twelve, though, he made it look suspicious, 0:24:49.119 --> 0:24:53.239 that and the multiple gunshots. It's a theory, but I 0:24:53.280 --> 0:24:56.840 think it's quite solid. It's either that or it's all 0:24:57.080 --> 0:24:58.560 just another coincidence. 0:24:59.440 --> 0:25:00.800 S me discuss this. 0:25:02.720 --> 0:25:05.560 So if it is just a coincidence, basically, you just 0:25:05.600 --> 0:25:10.000 have to kind of accept that working within the gas 0:25:10.040 --> 0:25:13.280 and oil industry in Russia in a big scale, one 0:25:13.320 --> 0:25:15.640