Authorities in Cyprus said a body found last month on a beach along the island’s southern coastline has been identified as Vladislav Baumgertner, a former CEO of Uralkali who went missing in January. Police on a British military base in Cyprus said DNA analysis confirmed the identification, and Cyprus authorities said they are still investigating the circumstances and cause of his death.
The identification was announced after the body was discovered a week after Baumgertner, 53, was reported missing from his home in Limassol. Cyprus authorities said the missing report followed his disappearance on Jan. 7, and that the body was later found on Avdimou beach, a location inside one of the British Sovereign Base Areas on the island.
Officials said an investigation is ongoing into how the body was found and what led to Baumgertner’s death. Authorities also said his relatives have been notified.
Avdimou lies within one of two military bases on Cyprus that the United Kingdom retained after the island gained independence from British colonial rule in 1960. The bases have their own police force and courts, and the police there said DNA testing confirmed Baumgertner’s identity.
The case also draws attention to Baumgertner’s previous detention in Belarus a decade ago. Cyprus authorities and reporting about his background said Baumgertner was Uralkali’s CEO when Belarusian authorities put him under house arrest in September 2013.
At the time, reporting said the detention followed a dispute connected to potash exports between Uralkali and Belarusian Potash Co., which export the fertilizer ingredient through a joint venture. Reporting in the cluster said the joint venture accounted for about a quarter of world potash output at the time.
Uralkali later withdrew from the trading venture after accusing Belarusian officials of allowing the state-owned company to export potash independently, and reporting said the withdrawal left Belarusian Potash Co. with virtually no qualified staff and raised fears of a price war.
The cluster also said Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed that Uralkali and Baumgertner’s actions harmed Belarus’s economy. After he was released two months after being placed under house arrest, Baumgertner was extradited to Russia, where prosecutors launched a criminal probe against him on abuse of office charges.
Reporting in the cluster said Baumgertner had been living in Cyprus for several years and was reportedly staying in an apartment above his business in Limassol, where thousands of Russian expatriates have made their homes.