A top Transneft executive dies in Moscow – the 14th mysterious death among elites
4 July 2025 14:07
Andrey Badalov, vice president of Transneft, who was responsible for the company’s digital transformation, died in Moscow under unclear circumstances. The death of the 63-year-old top manager was first reported by the Russian telegram channels Baza and Mash, and later confirmed by the state agency TASS, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
According to them, the incident occurred on Friday morning, and Badalov died on the spot after the fall. Investigators are looking into the circumstances of the incident. A TASS source reports that “the preliminary cause of death is suicide.”
Mash reports that Andrey Badalov had heart problems. When the body of Transneft’s vice president was found by a security guard at the residential complex on Rublevskoye Highway, the top manager was wearing a holter, a medical device for daily monitoring of cardiac parameters.
Some media outlets claim that the top manager wrote a farewell text message to his wife. But the text is not cited.
Who is Andrey Badalov?
Andrey Badalov was born in 1962 in Krasnodar, graduated from the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (MEPhI) and worked for a long time in the military-industrial complex.
In 2019, he headed the Vostok Research Institute, which developed state information systems, including the Vybory and Pravosuddya systems.
Since 2021, he has served as Vice President of Transneft, responsible for IT, automation, and digitalization of the oil transportation system.
The 14th death of a top manager in the energy sector
Badalov’s death is another case in a chain of mysterious deaths of executives of Russian energy, oil and gas, and infrastructure companies that have occurred since 2022. In total, there have been at least 14 such deaths, most of which have been classified as suicides or accidents, but which have raised suspicions among journalists and analysts.
Among the dead:
- Alexander Subbotin, a top Lukoil executive, suffered a heart attack during a “shamanic session” (May 2022),
- Ravil Maganov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Lukoil, fell out of a hospital window (September 2022),
- Dmitry Zatsepin and Valery Nekrasov, other top managers of Lukoil,
- Vitaly Robertus – died in March 2024.
Deaths abroad and in elite institutions
In a number of cases, the deaths of officials occurred outside Russia:
- In April 2022, Sergei Protosenya, the former Novatek executive, was found dead in Spain with his wife and daughter-the official version: “family suicide.”
In Moscow the same month, Vladislav Aveyev of Gazprombank died in a similar scenario.
Other victims included employees and former executives of Gazprom: Leonid Shulman, Alexander Tyulyakov, Yuri Vorontsov, and Andrey Kruglov.
Not just oil: deaths are linked to Arctic and defense projects
Among the dead are:
- Oleksandr Buzakov, head of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (submarines),
- Igor Nosov, head of the Arctic Special Economic Zone (infrastructure in the Arctic),
- Igor Shkurko, deputy director general of RusHydro, who was found dead in a pre-trial detention center.
These figures were key executors of strategic state projects related to defense, Arctic resources, and energy exports.
