A Russian billionaire and close associate of Putin suddenly disappears during a fraud investigation, his son dies under unexplained circumstances. He crossed the Russian border into Belarus in June this year – four months after the attack on Ukraine – but the details are only now emerging
One of Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s closest associates fled the country – just days before his son died under mysterious circumstances. Konstantin Goloshchapov, the Russian billionaire known as Putin’s “personal trainer”, crossed the Russian border into Belarus in June of this year – four months after the attack on Ukraine – but the details are only now being revealed.
Goloshchapov’s current whereabouts are unknown. In the latest footage, the former oligarch is seen cursing a photographer as he fled Russia in his BMW. Four days later his son Dmitri was found dead. Goloshchapov’s son Dmitry died under unexplained circumstances, just as a fraud investigation into the billionaire’s business interests began.
According to reports, Konstantin Goloshchapov got rich through dubious deals involving buildings in the Kremlin and his native St. Petersburg. Most interesting are his close personal ties to Putin: one version says it began around the time of the president as a KGB agent. When Goloshchapov was an informer for the secret services. Goloshchapov was involved in martial arts like Putin, and a strong friendship developed on the judo mat, it is claimed.
It’s not going well in Russia, is it? https://t.co/eGJRUcchti
— Daily Star (@dailystar) November 14, 2022
Another source said the trainer’s skills and innovative methods apparently helped Putin overcome an acute back injury, and the two remained close afterward.
Other sources reported that Putin used to visit Goloshchapov’s office in a St. Petersburg sauna. In 2000, Putin invited him to Moscow to head a state-owned company.
When Putin came to power, Goloshchapov made no less than 338 trips by plane between St. Petersburg and Moscow between 1998 and 2005. One of the allegations in 2002 was that Goloshchapov charged between $10,000 and $50,000 to promote his clients to important positions in Putin’s administration.
“He knows many of Putin’s secrets and for years was a key figure in Putin’s circle,” said a former Western diplomat in Moscow. Goloshchapov has property in Italy, Croatia and Finland. In 2018, he pressured investigators to stop looking into his ties to Putin.
Secret service expert Sergey Kniv posted: “What an interesting series of things is happening in Putin’s circle: his chef Yevgeny Prigozhin commands the forces in Ukraine, while his personal trainer Konstantin Goloshchapov left Russia in his son’s BMW, via Belarus.”
“The coach was supposed to be investigated as part of a criminal case for embezzlement of millions of dollars in St. Petersburg – but he was allowed to leave. Konstantin met Putin in the late 80s on a judo mat, now Goloshchapov, of course, is a billionaire, and the business structures trade in metals and planting vegetation in Moscow”.