Cyprus Rules Out Connection Of Baumgertner's Disappearance With Persecution In Belarus

In 2013, the businessman spent about a month in the KGB pre-trial detention center.

Cypriot police so far see no connection between the past criminal prosecution of ex-Uralkali CEO Vladislav Baumgertner and his disappearance, Limassol Deputy Police Director Lefteris Kyriacou said, Philenews.

"At the current stage it seems that there is no connection," Kyriacou said.

Baumgertner worked at Uralkali between 2003 and 2013. He held the positions of commercial and then general director of the company. In late August 2013, he was arrested in Minsk, where he had traveled at the invitation of then-Belarusian Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich for cooperation talks. The Belarusian authorities accused Baumgertner of abuse of power and large-scale embezzlement. The businessman spent about a month in the KGB detention center in Belarus, and then he was transferred under house arrest to a rented apartment, where he remained until November, when he was extradited to Russia.

In Russia, Baumgertner was also first sent to a detention center, and then transferred to house arrest in December. The case was brought under part 3 of Article 33 and part 2 of Article 201 (organization of a crime, abuse of power, resulting in grave consequences). In September 2014, the Basmanny Court of Moscow changed the measure of restraint for the businessman to a bail of 15 million Russian rubles, after which Baumgertner was released from house arrest. In February 2015, the criminal case was terminated for lack of corpus delicti. In August of the same year, Baumgertner took over as CEO of Global Ports, from which he left in March 2017.

Baumgertner's disappearance was reported to the police in Cyprus by an employee of his company after the businessman failed to answer multiple phone calls. The police website states that the 56-year-old Russian citizen has been absent from his residence in Limassol since January 7. The search began on January 10 in the area of Pissouri - there on the "steep rocky coast" was last recorded signal of his cell phone.

January 11 to the search operation involved a helicopter and drones, it also involved units of civil defense and volunteers. In the evening, the search was suspended due to heavy rain and unfavorable weather conditions on the island. The operation was resumed in the morning of January 12.

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