Deputy Pavel Antov – see India and die
The Wall Street Journal uncovered the specifics of the inquiry into the death in eastern India of one of Russia's wealthiest deputies, Pavel Antov, and the entrepreneur Vladimir Bydanov from Yoshkar-Ola. Bydanov passed away from a heart attack in the Sai International hotel room that he shared with Antov, who fell from the roof two days after his travel companion's death and his own birthday.
Vladimir MP Pavel Antov, who was ranked the richest government officials and deputies of Russia according to Forbes in 2019, died in India due to internal injuries sustained from falling off the roof of the Sai International hotel, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing police information. Antov’s travel companion in India, Vladimir Bydanov, passed away from a heart attack in the same hotel two days prior to Antov’s death, stated the lead investigator.
The men went on a 19-day tour along the coast of the Bay of Bengal and stopped in Rayagada district in the Indian state of Odisha in the east of the country, as per the report. They were accompanied by a married couple Antov had met several years ago in the Caribbean. During their flight from Moscow to New Delhi, the men received a warning for causing disturbance due to their drunkenness and rowdy behavior, according to the investigator overseeing the case.
The driver who accompanied the group noted that the men even drank alcohol during outings, while the couple insisted that Bydanov stop drinking. On the morning of December 22, Antov sought urgent assistance from the porter for Bydanov, who was found lifeless near a sofa surrounded by bottles, some of which were broken. An autopsy revealed that Bydanov succumbed to a heart attack on December 22, as per the investigator.
Hotel staff mentioned that after his companion's death, Antov locked himself in his room without consuming food or drink. His last sighting was on December 24, when the 65-year-old man was seen gesticulating and heading to the roof of a three-story hotel. His body was later discovered on the ground. Police reports indicated that Antov died from injuries sustained in a fall from the roof.
Antov turned 65 on December 22. Vyacheslav Kartukhin, deputy chairman of the Legislative Assembly, described his death as a result of “tragic circumstances” on his Telegram channel. The Vladimir TV channel Zebra TV identified the second deceased as 61-year-old businessman Vladimir Bydanov from Yoshkar-Ola, a friend of Antov. The Odisha State Police and the Consulate General found nothing suspicious in the deaths of the two Russians, according to Russian Consul General in Calcutta, Alexei Idamkin, speaking to TASS.
Pavel Antov is the founder of the meat company “Vladimir Standard”. In 2019, he secured the top spot in Forbes' ranking of the richest government officials and deputies of Russia with an income of 9.97 billion rubles (for 2018). In 2020, Antov dropped to 26th place with a total family income of 558 million rubles.
