1 00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:02,880 Speaker 1: Media. 2 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:07,000 Speaker 2: Something strange is going on. Another member of the Russian 3 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:08,160 Speaker 2: elite has been found dead. 4 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:11,240 Speaker 1: Reports suggests that he fell out of a window poisoned 5 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:12,240 Speaker 1: with mushrooms. 6 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 2: He died of heart failure, died of. 7 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:17,079 Speaker 1: Carbon monoxide poisoning. How comesy are they? 8 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:23,000 Speaker 2: Dozens of Russian oligachs, politically motivated millionaires have died in 9 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 2: the space of three years, most of them in suspicious circumstances. 10 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:32,240 Speaker 2: Many have hidden links to the Kremlin. This is sad 11 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:38,000 Speaker 2: Oligach Season two, an ongoing investigation into these recently dead 12 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:42,920 Speaker 2: Russian power brokers. Sad Oligach is created by me Jake 13 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:48,000 Speaker 2: Hanrahan and my Ukrainian colleague Sergey Slipchenkov. This is a 14 00:00:48,200 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 2: H eleven studio and Coolso Media production. Moscow, November thirtieth, 15 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:08,680 Speaker 2: twenty twenty three. Russian Senator Vladimir Lebedev is a healthy 16 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:13,600 Speaker 2: sixty one years old, full head of hair, well built, 17 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:17,640 Speaker 2: barely even going gray, but most he looks to be 18 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:23,679 Speaker 2: in his early fifties. By all accounts, he's vigorous, energetic, active, 19 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 2: even goes out and hunts game in the blistering cold 20 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 2: of Russia's winter. In fact, he hunts often with one 21 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:37,399 Speaker 2: of Putin's closest confidants, Sergei Kiriyenko. Kirriyenko is a former 22 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 2: prime minister and current Deputy Chief of Staff. He's a 23 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:46,720 Speaker 2: close friend of Leberdev. He robed shoulders with the very 24 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:52,800 Speaker 2: inner circle of the Kremlin. As Leberdev goes about his day, 25 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:58,480 Speaker 2: and artery in his heart begins to tremor see. For 26 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 2: the last few years, his body has been quietly sending 27 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 2: excess blood to a gunk patch in the artery. He's 28 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:08,160 Speaker 2: been trying to fix a tear that's built up over time. 29 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:11,840 Speaker 2: Think of it like a scab, but on the inside 30 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 2: of the pipes inside you. This creates a clot, and 31 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:20,359 Speaker 2: the clot is about to block blood flow through Leberdev's 32 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:25,679 Speaker 2: cardiac system. The muscles downstream of the clot are rapidly 33 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:30,600 Speaker 2: starved of oxygen. A sharp pain strikes throughout Vladimir Leberdev's 34 00:02:30,639 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 2: left arm. The natural rhythm of his heart goes haywire. 35 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:40,000 Speaker 2: It misfires, each beat, studs stuttering. His chest is tight. 36 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:43,840 Speaker 2: Now he cries out in pain, cold sweat beating on 37 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 2: his forehead, agony, vision distorted, is about to throw up. 38 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 2: His heart is done I am Vladimir's exploding left ventricle 39 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:01,840 Speaker 2: collapses onto the floor, heart stopped dead. In an instant, 40 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:09,560 Speaker 2: Vladimir Leberdev has suffered a catastrophic heart attack. Just two 41 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:12,800 Speaker 2: days later, Leberdev is dressed up in a suit and 42 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 2: is laid out in a wooden box. His body is 43 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:20,760 Speaker 2: lowered into the ground at Moscow's Alexander Nevsky Cathedral on 44 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:26,000 Speaker 2: December two. His friends and family are all shocked. One 45 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 2: person who attends describes it as a quote terrible tragedy. 46 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:36,440 Speaker 2: Leberdev was fit and healthy, and yet now he's six 47 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:49,320 Speaker 2: feet under. So what's suspicious about a heart attack? People 48 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 2: have them all the time, even freak cardiac arrests of 49 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:56,840 Speaker 2: people who are fit and healthy. It happens, sure, but 50 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 2: still Leberdev's proximity to the Kremlin, of course, raises a 51 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 2: red flag for me and surgery. We dug deeper into this, 52 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:08,920 Speaker 2: and as is part of the cause for season two 53 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:14,840 Speaker 2: of sad Oligarch, that is very very limited information. It 54 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:18,039 Speaker 2: will probably come as no surprise to you at this point, 55 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:23,280 Speaker 2: but the material we did find is contradictory and confusing. 56 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 2: For example, there are two versions in the Russian media 57 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,320 Speaker 2: and on the grapevine of where Leberdev was and what 58 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 2: he was doing when his heart stopped working. Version one, 59 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:41,680 Speaker 2: Leberdev was on a fishing trip of one of his 60 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:46,039 Speaker 2: luxurious homes in the Russian countryside. He'd been complaining all 61 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:50,440 Speaker 2: day about chest pains. According to his friends, he lost consciousness, 62 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:55,159 Speaker 2: he died. We know this because these details were allegedly 63 00:04:55,400 --> 00:05:00,280 Speaker 2: leaked to a Russian based news agency. That's basically the 64 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:03,680 Speaker 2: only reason we know it was a heart attack. Officially, 65 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:08,240 Speaker 2: at least now, It's true that Leberdev was an avid 66 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:11,359 Speaker 2: fisher as well as a hunter, but it's worth noting 67 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:14,279 Speaker 2: that from what we can gather, he did all of 68 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:19,720 Speaker 2: this with prominent members of the Russian elite, parliamentarians, oligarchs, 69 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 2: and Putin's henchmen. I don't know about you, but I 70 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 2: think that is worth noting. Version two basically the same story, 71 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 2: but instead of being out fishing, they say he was 72 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:35,479 Speaker 2: out hunting, and to be honest, I think that is 73 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:38,719 Speaker 2: quite a big distinction. I don't know if you've ever 74 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:42,880 Speaker 2: been fishing, but not a lot is going on. You 75 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:45,240 Speaker 2: sit there, you throw out your line into the water, 76 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:48,000 Speaker 2: you wait for a buye and you're reel in a 77 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:52,320 Speaker 2: fish or a rusty cable or something like that. It's 78 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:56,760 Speaker 2: a cool activity, but it's hardly strenuous. Whereas hunting you're 79 00:05:56,800 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 2: sneaking through the woods, loading up weapons and shooting wild animals. 80 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:07,480 Speaker 2: It's probably also a much easy environment to induce shenanigans 81 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:11,359 Speaker 2: if you wanted to get rid of someone quietly just 82 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:16,960 Speaker 2: saying now. As I mentioned, there's already read flags here 83 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:21,520 Speaker 2: in terms of who leverdev knew and the unclear messages 84 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:23,839 Speaker 2: on what he was actually up to when he died. 85 00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:28,599 Speaker 2: But there is another factor here that is quite suspicious 86 00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:34,559 Speaker 2: to me. Listeners of sad Oligach Season one will likely 87 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:40,000 Speaker 2: remember Luke Coyle, one of Russia's largest privately owned oil companies. 88 00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:46,000 Speaker 2: They're involved in everything from drilling and refining to selling 89 00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 2: fuel in Russia and internationally. They're also a company with 90 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:56,520 Speaker 2: many mysterious deaths hanging around their necks. The untimely demise 91 00:06:56,680 --> 00:07:00,719 Speaker 2: of Vladimir Lebedev is another tally to add to that list. 92 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 2: Before we go into why I think we need a 93 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:08,479 Speaker 2: refresher on Luke Oil. Trust me, you'll need this to 94 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:16,360 Speaker 2: understand the complicated web that it's found itself in. Luke 95 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 2: Oil is one of the largest oil and gas companies 96 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 2: in the world, and the most significant major energy firm 97 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:25,960 Speaker 2: to come out of post Soviet Russia without being fully 98 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:30,640 Speaker 2: absorbed by the state. It occupies an unusual position in 99 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:35,600 Speaker 2: the global energy system, Russian in origin, international in operation, 100 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:40,560 Speaker 2: privately owned in structure, but operating within a political environment 101 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:44,800 Speaker 2: where nothing large survives without at least implicit state approval. 102 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:49,320 Speaker 2: The company was founded in nineteen ninety one, at the 103 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:54,040 Speaker 2: exact moment the Soviet Union was collapsing. It was formed 104 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:59,840 Speaker 2: when three Western Siberian oil enterprises merged Lanch, pass Uri 105 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:03,760 Speaker 2: and Coggerlim. This is the arrangement that gave it its 106 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:10,240 Speaker 2: name l u and Kluke Coil. The timing really mattered. 107 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:14,280 Speaker 2: While many former Soviet industries collapsed or were stripped for 108 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:17,240 Speaker 2: parts during the nineties, Luke Coil was designed from the 109 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:22,040 Speaker 2: outset as a vertically integrated oil company That meant it 110 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:30,440 Speaker 2: controlled the entire chain exploration, extraction, refining, transportation, retail. This 111 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:33,680 Speaker 2: structure allowed it to stabilize quickly and operate more like 112 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:38,120 Speaker 2: a Western oil giant and Soviet relic. During this period, 113 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:43,000 Speaker 2: Russia's oil sector was a free fall assets were privatized cheaply, 114 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:48,199 Speaker 2: laws were frankly elastic, and political power was fragmented. Blue 115 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:53,000 Speaker 2: Coil expanded aggressively during this period, consolidating production assets and 116 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:56,720 Speaker 2: developing management systems that could function in an environment where 117 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:02,520 Speaker 2: formal institutions were weak. Nineties, it had already become Russia's 118 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:06,599 Speaker 2: largest oil producer, and unlike many of its competitors, it 119 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:10,079 Speaker 2: was not built purely around asset stripping or short term 120 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:17,679 Speaker 2: cash extraction. Lukoil was for keeps. The company's identity is 121 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:22,800 Speaker 2: inseparable from its longtime president and co founder, Vejet Alekporov. 122 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:28,400 Speaker 2: Alekporov is an oligarch, but he represents a specific subtype 123 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:31,840 Speaker 2: of oligarch. He's a technocrat who rode through the Soviet 124 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:35,920 Speaker 2: oil industry and carried that industrial mindset into the era 125 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:40,760 Speaker 2: of post collapse USSR. Under his leadership, Lukeoyle focused on 126 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:46,800 Speaker 2: operational discipline, long term field development, and international expansion as 127 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:52,040 Speaker 2: opposed to petty political drama that often led to serious destruction. 128 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:56,760 Speaker 2: His large personal stake in Lukekoyl gave the company continuity 129 00:09:57,160 --> 00:10:00,120 Speaker 2: and shielded it from the internal chaos that plagued many 130 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:07,680 Speaker 2: other Russian firms. Okay, now it's time for a quick outbreak. 131 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:15,240 Speaker 2: All right, enough for that, Now back to the shore. 132 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:23,720 Speaker 2: Luke Oil's core business is oil and gas production, refining, 133 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:27,560 Speaker 2: and then selling it. On the production side, the company 134 00:10:27,559 --> 00:10:32,800 Speaker 2: extracts crude oil and natural gas primarily from western Siberia, 135 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:37,000 Speaker 2: the t Man Peeshura region, the Caspian Sea, and other 136 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:41,839 Speaker 2: difficult environments, including areas with extreme cold that are a 137 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:46,560 Speaker 2: logistical nightmare to get to. These are not easy fields 138 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:51,200 Speaker 2: to operate in. They require serious technical expertise and long 139 00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:54,400 Speaker 2: term investment to keep out but stable. As the oil 140 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:59,800 Speaker 2: reservoirs mature, luke Oil became particularly adept at squeezing value 141 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:03,880 Speaker 2: of aging oil fields, an area where many Western companies 142 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:08,800 Speaker 2: lose interest once production hits its peak. Downstream, lukec Oil 143 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:13,880 Speaker 2: owns and operates refineries and petrochemical plants, and runs a 144 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:18,440 Speaker 2: vast retail fuel network. Its petrol stations are spread across 145 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:23,600 Speaker 2: Russia and even much of Europe still after sanctions, particularly 146 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:29,160 Speaker 2: in Eastern and southern European countries. This downstream presence provides 147 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:33,360 Speaker 2: steady cash flow and buffers the company against fluctuations in 148 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:38,600 Speaker 2: crude oil prices. It also embeds luke Coil directly into 149 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:42,400 Speaker 2: consumer markets, making it harder to treat purely as a 150 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:48,080 Speaker 2: remote extractive firm. Unlike some Russian energy companies that remained 151 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:53,640 Speaker 2: largely domestic, lou Coil pursued international expansion early. It is 152 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:59,480 Speaker 2: operated in Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. 153 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:04,640 Speaker 2: One of its most significant foreign projects was in Iraq, 154 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:08,920 Speaker 2: just like the Americans. Here they developed the West Kina 155 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:13,079 Speaker 2: To oil field, one of the largest in the whole world. 156 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:19,800 Speaker 2: These overseas operations gave Lucyle experience working under international contracts, 157 00:12:20,160 --> 00:12:24,880 Speaker 2: dealing with foreign governments, and operating within global regulatory frameworks. 158 00:12:25,559 --> 00:12:29,800 Speaker 2: Luke Oil was therefore nowhere near as insulated as some 159 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:34,520 Speaker 2: of the other Russian firms were. This international footprint also 160 00:12:34,679 --> 00:12:40,000 Speaker 2: shaped how Luke Oil positioned itself culturally. The company adopted 161 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:45,320 Speaker 2: international accounting standards, published detail corporate reports, and tried to 162 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:51,000 Speaker 2: present itself as an intercontinental, global energy firm rather than 163 00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:57,120 Speaker 2: a parochial Russian one. This was partly genuine, partly strategic, 164 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:01,160 Speaker 2: but it reflected a real effort to remain integrated into 165 00:13:01,200 --> 00:13:06,800 Speaker 2: the global markets. So Luke Oil's relationship with the Russian 166 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:12,400 Speaker 2: state is central to understanding what it actually is. Unlike 167 00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:16,560 Speaker 2: other Russian energy firms like Gazprom or Oznevt, is not 168 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:21,800 Speaker 2: a state owned champion explicitly used as a geopolitical weapon. 169 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:27,160 Speaker 2: It's different. Still, no company of louke Coil size operates 170 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:31,199 Speaker 2: in Russia without some level of tolerance from the state. 171 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:37,440 Speaker 2: The unspoken bargain has been straightforward. Lucoil stays out of politics, 172 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:42,920 Speaker 2: pays its taxes, maintains production, and does not publicly challenge 173 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:46,960 Speaker 2: the Kremlin. In return, it is allowed to operate with 174 00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:51,920 Speaker 2: relative autonomy. This balance held for decades, even as the 175 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:57,280 Speaker 2: state reasserted control over much of the energy sector. As 176 00:13:57,280 --> 00:14:01,880 Speaker 2: we know, the arrangement has been increasingly tested after Russia's 177 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:17,480 Speaker 2: full scale invasion of Ukraine in twenty twenty two. In 178 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:21,560 Speaker 2: a rare and controversial move, Blue Coyle's board of executives 179 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:25,120 Speaker 2: issued a statement calling for an end to the conflict. 180 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:30,080 Speaker 2: Now that might seem like a pretty innocuous thing to say, 181 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:33,840 Speaker 2: but it was, of course, in Russia interpreted as a 182 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:37,640 Speaker 2: total insult to the Kremlin and even to Putin himself. 183 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:42,920 Speaker 2: You might remember from season one that this specific event 184 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:47,760 Speaker 2: ended in catastrophe for several members of lou Coyle's board. 185 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:53,680 Speaker 2: Allegedly in the Russian corporate environment, the issued statement on 186 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:58,280 Speaker 2: the invasion was highly unusual. It wouldn't serve to change 187 00:14:58,280 --> 00:15:02,000 Speaker 2: the course of events in any way whatsoever in regard 188 00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:04,560 Speaker 2: to the war, but it did signal that Louke Coyle 189 00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:08,800 Speaker 2: sees itself primarily as a business rather than an instrument 190 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:12,720 Speaker 2: of the Russian government. The drawer line in the sands 191 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:19,480 Speaker 2: and essentially said we're not Putin's boys. Big mistake. For 192 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:22,840 Speaker 2: some this move was their last before winding up dead 193 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:29,480 Speaker 2: in suspicious circumstances. Western sanctions steming from the invasion of 194 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:34,240 Speaker 2: Ukraine have complicated Loukel's operations, but they have not destroyed 195 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:37,960 Speaker 2: at the company, not at all. While luc Oil itself 196 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:43,080 Speaker 2: has sometimes avoided the harshest direct sanctions applied to state firms, 197 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:50,680 Speaker 2: it has been affected indirectly through restrictions on finance, shipping, insurance, technology, 198 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:57,000 Speaker 2: and senior executives. Modern oil production depends heavily on Western 199 00:15:57,040 --> 00:16:00,720 Speaker 2: equipment and software, and losing access to these tools raises 200 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:06,320 Speaker 2: costs and limits growth. Still, though Lukoil has adapted by 201 00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:11,600 Speaker 2: relying more on domestic technology, suppliers from Asia and more 202 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:18,160 Speaker 2: complex logistical workarounds they've now actually ended up making more 203 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:25,480 Speaker 2: money since Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Sanctions do not work 204 00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:30,120 Speaker 2: so globally. Lukoil has long been viewed as one of 205 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:35,240 Speaker 2: the more professionally run Russian corporations. That doesn't make it 206 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:39,640 Speaker 2: non threatening or a political It remains a fossil fuel 207 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:43,560 Speaker 2: company whose revenues support the Russian government, but it has 208 00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:48,320 Speaker 2: generally avoided the open corruption scandals and the over political 209 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:54,160 Speaker 2: signaling seen elsewhere in Russia. It invests heavily in training, 210 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:59,840 Speaker 2: long term planning, and maintaining production capacity rather than maximizing 211 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:05,120 Speaker 2: short term extraction at any cost. Practically, this makes them 212 00:17:05,320 --> 00:17:10,880 Speaker 2: pretty good, so ultimately luke Oil is best understood as 213 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:14,960 Speaker 2: a survivor. It survived the collapse of the Soviet Union, 214 00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:20,160 Speaker 2: the utter chaos of the nineteen nineties privatization wave, the 215 00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:24,840 Speaker 2: consolidation of power under Putin, and the shock of modern sanctions. 216 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:30,479 Speaker 2: It exists in a narrow space between market capitalism and 217 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:35,399 Speaker 2: state power, constantly adapting to political pressure whilst trying to 218 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:40,600 Speaker 2: remain commercially rational. The survival of some of Luke Oil's 219 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:46,000 Speaker 2: top staff, however, has not been so successful. So with 220 00:17:46,119 --> 00:17:49,720 Speaker 2: all this in mind, and having spent so much time 221 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:54,919 Speaker 2: researching all of this for a sad oligarch. I'll be honest, 222 00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:59,639 Speaker 2: My first thought was perhaps Vladimir Lebadev's heart attack was 223 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:03,560 Speaker 2: in due used, maybe by poison. If so, were his 224 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:06,879 Speaker 2: connections to Luke oil what got him killed. Now, I 225 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:08,840 Speaker 2: know that's a bit of a jump, but by now 226 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:12,680 Speaker 2: I don't think it's a particularly unfounded one, not when 227 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:15,960 Speaker 2: you consider the fact that more than fifty members of 228 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:20,199 Speaker 2: the Russian elite have died in mysterious circumstances since twenty 229 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:24,399 Speaker 2: twenty two, when Russia invaded Ukraine and Putin launched the 230 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:30,200 Speaker 2: next phase of the Kremlin regime. As we've documented, many 231 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:34,080 Speaker 2: of these deaths are covered up so badly it's as 232 00:18:34,119 --> 00:18:38,239 Speaker 2: if Putin's henchmen want to send a message. If so, 233 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:42,120 Speaker 2: I think that message is something like, we will come 234 00:18:42,119 --> 00:18:45,560 Speaker 2: and kill you if you mess with us. But anyway, 235 00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:48,760 Speaker 2: let's not get ahead of ourselves. First, it's important to 236 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:54,720 Speaker 2: understand what Levedev's connections to Luke Oil actually were. Let's 237 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:55,800 Speaker 2: speak to sergery. 238 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:01,600 Speaker 1: Pretty much just kind of his entire career is lukecoil. 239 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:05,439 Speaker 1: He's very much in the energy like oil sector, his 240 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:08,720 Speaker 1: whole life, he's worked at either loc Oil directly or 241 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:11,680 Speaker 1: companies that are kind of like subsidies of loc Oil, 242 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:15,399 Speaker 1: or companies that eventually became a part of Locoil. Just 243 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:17,200 Speaker 1: looking at his I guess you could say in a 244 00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:20,840 Speaker 1: resume starting in nineteen ninety seven to nineteen ninety eight, 245 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:24,640 Speaker 1: he's a deputy general director of subsidiary of Luco Oil 246 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:27,600 Speaker 1: of Nicei No World. So it's literally like Louc Oil 247 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:31,560 Speaker 1: Dash Nichi Nogura kind of overseeing the specific city, right 248 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:33,600 Speaker 1: and kind of the operations there. From what I read, 249 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:37,800 Speaker 1: Locoil has a pretty big route or connection to Nishi Nogura. 250 00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:40,280 Speaker 1: That sounds like they have a lot of operations. They 251 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:43,600 Speaker 1: have like a big base there, and yeah, he's overseeing 252 00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:47,600 Speaker 1: the regional company for it seems like a year I 253 00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:52,040 Speaker 1: looked in it's called like CGSC Loco Oil Nut. 254 00:19:55,680 --> 00:20:04,960 Speaker 2: Okay, now it's time for quick outbreak, all right? Not 255 00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:07,240 Speaker 2: for that. Now back to the. 256 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:14,919 Speaker 1: Shore, which means closed joint companies, so essentially like the 257 00:20:15,119 --> 00:20:19,159 Speaker 1: shares are owned by either the owners or founders or 258 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:21,320 Speaker 1: like a small council of people. Here in the West, 259 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:23,600 Speaker 1: you know, there's the publicly traded companies This is the 260 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:25,639 Speaker 1: opposite where it's like closed, it's not on the market. 261 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:28,280 Speaker 1: This is an old way of like I guess like 262 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:31,239 Speaker 1: calling a company in Russia. Now they just kind of 263 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:33,720 Speaker 1: they stay away from that because the other one would 264 00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:37,280 Speaker 1: have been open joined company. They don't use that anymore. 265 00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:43,560 Speaker 2: So would you have potentially had shares then in this 266 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:46,679 Speaker 2: this this like closed part of Blue Coil. 267 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:48,880 Speaker 1: It's possible that's the thing. It's closed, so we don't 268 00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:50,840 Speaker 1: really know who owns it. We just know that it's 269 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:53,240 Speaker 1: owned by a So it would be either like founder, 270 00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:56,639 Speaker 1: co founder, maybe as as big as like a group 271 00:20:56,760 --> 00:20:59,320 Speaker 1: of people like say like there's like a board of 272 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:01,320 Speaker 1: directors or something like maybe they have a stake. But 273 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:04,399 Speaker 1: generally it's like whoever had those shares, they're going to 274 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:06,840 Speaker 1: keep them. They're not. You can't like sell them publicly. 275 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:10,520 Speaker 1: You can't swap them unless there's some kind of buyout. Generally, 276 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:12,479 Speaker 1: what that means is kind of like the people who 277 00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:14,480 Speaker 1: have these shares will have a bigger say in it, 278 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:16,800 Speaker 1: right because they don't really care about the public opinion 279 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:20,000 Speaker 1: or like what like you know, when a publicly traded company, 280 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:22,399 Speaker 1: you can't like do certain things because people get scared 281 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:25,080 Speaker 1: or sell off shares. This is basically kind of like 282 00:21:25,119 --> 00:21:29,720 Speaker 1: a more tighter control in the company. Then nineteen ninety eight, 283 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:32,919 Speaker 1: two thousand and one, he's he's an executive director of 284 00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:38,280 Speaker 1: this time an open joint stock company, nijsh nov Energo, 285 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:42,840 Speaker 1: so needs no good energy company, basically kind of overseeing 286 00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:47,080 Speaker 1: the regional energy grid, extraction of oil stuff like that. 287 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:50,240 Speaker 1: And he's there for three years two thousand and one, 288 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:53,600 Speaker 1: two thousand and four, he moves on to another company. 289 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:57,200 Speaker 1: He's again a general director, this type of kidov Energo, 290 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:02,439 Speaker 1: so just another regional energy company. They're all kind of 291 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:04,480 Speaker 1: like I tried to look into their structure and basically 292 00:22:04,560 --> 00:22:08,400 Speaker 1: there's like the big big companies right like gasprom Rose, 293 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:12,000 Speaker 1: nift Loke Oil. They're all kind of like the big 294 00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:15,399 Speaker 1: daddies of oil companies. And these are all regional either 295 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:19,080 Speaker 1: management companies or kind of overseeing like the more like 296 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:26,359 Speaker 1: local businesses of these things. So you know, influential, important, 297 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:29,280 Speaker 1: but definitely not like low oil level where you're kind 298 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:33,040 Speaker 1: of overseeing the whole country. But anyway, he's there until 299 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:36,239 Speaker 1: two thousand and four. In two thousand and four, two 300 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:38,679 Speaker 1: thousand and five, he becomes a deputy Prime Minister of 301 00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:42,200 Speaker 1: Kido Region. I tried to understand what exactly that meant. 302 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:44,840 Speaker 1: I couldn't quite figure out because they have so many 303 00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:49,199 Speaker 1: different like deputy prime minister, deputy governor. Basically he was 304 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:52,280 Speaker 1: important in the government, but I couldn't quite figure out 305 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:55,600 Speaker 1: if he was like leading the region. But he's definitely 306 00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:58,600 Speaker 1: up there, like he was important in the Kido Region 307 00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:03,080 Speaker 1: and part of the government. He only spends a year 308 00:23:03,119 --> 00:23:07,359 Speaker 1: in that position. He goes back to kind of the 309 00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:12,280 Speaker 1: energy field or like sector in pretty much the next year, 310 00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:17,720 Speaker 1: and he's working with it's called Territorial Generating Company number five. 311 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:19,800 Speaker 1: It sounds like there's a bunch of them. There's like 312 00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:23,000 Speaker 1: they're like number companies, and again they're kind of overseeing 313 00:23:23,119 --> 00:23:28,000 Speaker 1: energy electrical grids for various localities, like whether a town 314 00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:32,600 Speaker 1: or like maybe a bigger region. He's general director again, 315 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:35,720 Speaker 1: so these are all senior positions. I don't know if 316 00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:38,640 Speaker 1: they just didn't include it, but I don't see any 317 00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:41,119 Speaker 1: kind of like lower ranking positions. I think there was 318 00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:44,639 Speaker 1: a mention that he started as an engineer at one place, 319 00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:48,800 Speaker 1: but for the most part, he's hading these very senior roles. 320 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:51,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, I looked at that as well, and it's weird, 321 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:55,440 Speaker 2: like he just gets kind of transplanted into these roles. 322 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:59,120 Speaker 2: But there's nowhere that I've seen where it's like, yeah, 323 00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:01,840 Speaker 2: he did well, he so he improved this and then 324 00:24:02,359 --> 00:24:04,480 Speaker 2: was promoted here or was headhunt to day, it just 325 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:06,840 Speaker 2: seems to have been dropped into them. It's kind of weird. Yeah. 326 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:09,719 Speaker 1: Also, like even as I've been like going over this 327 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:11,840 Speaker 1: right now, it's literally like a year or two at 328 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:14,600 Speaker 1: each place right kind of weird. It's like, you know, 329 00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:16,960 Speaker 1: you you know, like you think normally like you'd need 330 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:18,639 Speaker 1: time to kind of like adjust and get used to it. 331 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:21,160 Speaker 1: But I don't know exactly what he's doing there. Maybe 332 00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:23,280 Speaker 1: he has some kind of specific, you know, thing to 333 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:25,240 Speaker 1: look over or to do that's kind of like a 334 00:24:25,359 --> 00:24:27,080 Speaker 1: very niche thing. I don't know, Like I don't know 335 00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:29,639 Speaker 1: what he's doing there. But every place, I think the 336 00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:32,600 Speaker 1: longest he's been at this like three years. Otherwise he's 337 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:35,880 Speaker 1: kind of hopping from place to place, like even here, 338 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:38,960 Speaker 1: after being at the TGC five, he moves over to 339 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:42,760 Speaker 1: TGC eight, right like another company, stays for a year, 340 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:44,960 Speaker 1: and then all of a sudden in two thousand and nine, 341 00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:47,520 Speaker 1: he becomes a deputy governor of Niezsad. 342 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:51,879 Speaker 2: That's another thing that seems, I don't know, there's obviously 343 00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:54,480 Speaker 2: a lot of heart attack whatever maybe probably who knows, 344 00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:56,959 Speaker 2: but that we've seen heart attacks before that weren't heart 345 00:24:56,960 --> 00:25:00,040 Speaker 2: attacks in these cases, and there's just so many the 346 00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:04,679 Speaker 2: things is that links to other cases that were a 347 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:08,760 Speaker 2: lot more clearly not the deaths that were reported. As 348 00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:12,440 Speaker 2: for example, we've got Luke Oil, we've got close links 349 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:16,040 Speaker 2: to the Credlin and we've got Nivsky Novgorod. Again, this 350 00:25:16,119 --> 00:25:22,119 Speaker 2: region where many high ranking elite is type people have 351 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:24,959 Speaker 2: died in mysterious circumstances. 352 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:28,200 Speaker 1: I mean, there's definitely something about it, because again there's 353 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:30,920 Speaker 1: like a few things that overlap, look oil being one 354 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:33,480 Speaker 1: of them. You know, there's the other guy, like im 355 00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:37,040 Speaker 1: Ni Krassov. I think he dies a month before. I 356 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:40,840 Speaker 1: don't have these act days, but it's October for Ni Krassov, 357 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:44,760 Speaker 1: a month later, November thirtieth for Libertyev. You know, so 358 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:47,560 Speaker 1: like let's just say a month between their that's they're 359 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:51,239 Speaker 1: both at lokoil or you know, they had a very 360 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:54,960 Speaker 1: strong connection to locoil and they both kind of die. 361 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:58,960 Speaker 1: Nekrasso as well, his death was just like, yep, he died, 362 00:26:00,119 --> 00:26:04,359 Speaker 1: can really you know, expand on that. Nothing additional added 363 00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:06,679 Speaker 1: to that. That's that's all we kind of get. And 364 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:11,480 Speaker 1: it's given directly from the Coil. I think for Lebedev 365 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:14,360 Speaker 1: when they say his death they say like they don't 366 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:16,320 Speaker 1: know why. I think the initial reports were like, we 367 00:26:16,359 --> 00:26:18,639 Speaker 1: don't know why. And then when I did find his 368 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:21,879 Speaker 1: death it was from some kind of like government body, 369 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:25,720 Speaker 1: not not like a relative or from the police. It 370 00:26:25,840 --> 00:26:29,359 Speaker 1: was just some government official that that mentioned like yep, no, 371 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:30,200 Speaker 1: it was a heart attack. 372 00:26:33,119 --> 00:26:38,960 Speaker 2: Yeah that Just one month before Leberdev's untimely death, another 373 00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:43,879 Speaker 2: lou Coyle linked executive died from a heart attack, or 374 00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:47,679 Speaker 2: at least that's the official line. Perhaps this is just 375 00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:51,920 Speaker 2: a coincidence, and Leberdev did just die of a heart 376 00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:55,960 Speaker 2: attack as the other guy apparently did so, of course 377 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:59,680 Speaker 2: very possible, but I think his connections to Luke Coil, 378 00:27:00,119 --> 00:27:03,680 Speaker 2: the war in Ukraine, and Putin's in a circle are 379 00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:08,840 Speaker 2: worth raising an eyebrow over. As far as sad oligarch 380 00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:13,200 Speaker 2: logic goes, these three things are very likely to get 381 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:18,600 Speaker 2: you killed. I should say though, that Leberdev was very 382 00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:23,840 Speaker 2: much in favor of Russia's horrific massacres in Ukraine publicly, 383 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:30,120 Speaker 2: so it's therefore unlikely the Executive Board's end the war 384 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:34,680 Speaker 2: statement would have got him bumped off too. Who knows 385 00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:36,880 Speaker 2: what else he might have been up to, though, if 386 00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:40,080 Speaker 2: you're pooing Brown Knows as he was, and you're happily 387 00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:43,359 Speaker 2: dancing between the inner circle of the Kremlin and lou Coyle, 388 00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:46,600 Speaker 2: there's a higher chance you've got some kind of side 389 00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:52,000 Speaker 2: ust all going on. As this season has shown, absolutely 390 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:56,240 Speaker 2: everyone in the Russian oligarch orbit is constantly on the 391 00:27:56,359 --> 00:28:02,400 Speaker 2: take either way. Leberdev is another tally on the recent 392 00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:09,159 Speaker 2: lou Coyle linked Demayer's chat. Whilst digging up new info 393 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:12,440 Speaker 2: on the Russian oil giant for this case, we came 394 00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:19,000 Speaker 2: across yet another death from the upper echelons, vitally Robertus. 395 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:24,720 Speaker 2: Like Lebedev, he was relatively young at fifty four. On 396 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:29,040 Speaker 2: March thirteenth, twenty twenty four, reports came in of the 397 00:28:29,080 --> 00:28:34,080 Speaker 2: sudden death of Robertus. He was the vice president of 398 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:38,840 Speaker 2: lou Coyl. He died from suicide. He killed himself in 399 00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:45,240 Speaker 2: his own office. Just before his death, he apparently complained 400 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:49,240 Speaker 2: of bad headaches, and was searching for medication before going 401 00:28:49,280 --> 00:28:54,080 Speaker 2: to his office. He never left. He was found in 402 00:28:54,120 --> 00:29:00,520 Speaker 2: there hanging from a noose several hours later. A Russian 403 00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:04,960 Speaker 2: media report on the death of Robertus said the following quote. 404 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:09,080 Speaker 2: He didn't leave for several hours and didn't answer his phone. 405 00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:13,160 Speaker 2: The employees decided to go into his office and found 406 00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:17,120 Speaker 2: his body. The top manager died by suicide of aphixium. 407 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:21,320 Speaker 2: He had worked at the company for about thirty years. 408 00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:27,400 Speaker 2: Ends quote. He was the fourth lukeyl Linked executive to 409 00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:32,960 Speaker 2: die in this space of two years. Or perhaps he 410 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:38,120 Speaker 2: was the fifth and Leberdev was the fourth. Either way, 411 00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:41,600 Speaker 2: it's safe to say that working at Luke Coil is 412 00:29:41,960 --> 00:30:03,720 Speaker 2: very bad for your health. You've been listening to sad 413 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:07,760 Speaker 2: Oliga season two, produced by H eleven Studios for Cool 414 00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:14,840 Speaker 2: Zone Media. Writing, editing, producing, concept and recording by myself, 415 00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:21,760 Speaker 2: Jake Hanrahan, Research and reporting by Sergei Slipchenko, Me and 416 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:29,000 Speaker 2: Victim Mihail. Executive producing by Sophie Lichtman, Music by Sam Black, 417 00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:37,680 Speaker 2: artwork by George zutfor soundmixed by Splicing Block. See my 418 00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:41,440 Speaker 2: other projects at Hanrahan dot tv. Get me on social 419 00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:45,400 Speaker 2: media at Jake under school Hanrahan. That's h A n 420 00:30:45,640 --> 00:31:04,760 Speaker 2: r A h A M. Cast Slinking looks like