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A senior Russian official was found dead at the Russian embassy in Nicosia, with a post-mortem finding the cause was unnatural and "probably suicide," a police source told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Monday.
The man's body was discovered inside his office last Thursday, according to local media. Police were called to the embassy, but officers were not permitted to enter the complex to investigate, local media reported.
The body was handed over to the police in the embassy courtyard.
"A body was found on the premises. Any further inquiries must be addressed to the embassy," a police official told AFP.
According to the Phileleftheros newspaper, the only information provided to the Greek Cypriot police was that the Russian national had taken his own life and had left a note.
The note was not passed to Greek Cypriot authorities because the embassy sent it to Moscow, the Phileleftheros newspaper reported.
Greek Cypriot authorities "appear to have been informed of the incident with a delay of several hours," Phileleftheros added.
The Greek Cypriot Foreign Ministry is reportedly monitoring the case.
The official autopsy performed on the body of 48-year-old Russian A.V. Panov, an employee of the Russian Federation Embassy in Nicosia, revealed the cause of death, according to ANT1.
"The official autopsy was conducted at the General Hospital of Nicosia morgue by forensic pathologist Angelic Papeta," ANT1 reported.
"The autopsy indicated that death resulted from asphyxiation due to strangulation," according to a local media report.
The investigation cannot be closed, however, as Greek Cypriot police investigators neither have the necessary evidence in their hands nor were they granted access to the office where the Russian was found dead to confirm with scientific evidence the autopsy finding that it was suicide, according to reports.
Separately, according to the Nexta news network, a 56-year-old businessman, Vladislav Baumgertner, is missing in Limassol. His traces were lost on Jan. 7. The Greek Cypriot police have issued a public appeal for help, Belarusian media reported.
The operation began on January 10 in the Pissouri area, the last location where his phone signal was recorded.
According to Nexta, Baumgertner became widely known in 2013 when he was arrested in Minsk following an order by Alexander Lukashenko during the so-called "potash war" between Uralkali and Belaruskali.
He was later extradited to Moscow, placed under house arrest, but the case was filed away in 2015, the media reported. "Subsequently, he returned to business, took over leadership of Global Ports, and in recent years has lived in Greek Cyprus," the report added.
The Belarusian media noted that members of the Russian elite have, from time to time, "disappeared, committed suicide, or been victims of accidents and criminal acts."
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