Authorities in Cyprus say a body discovered last month on a southern beach has been identified as Vladislav Baumgertner, a Russian businessman who once ran the world’s largest potash producer and was previously detained in Belarus in a high-profile corporate dispute.
Police operating under the UK’s Sovereign Base Areas confirmed that DNA analysis matched the remains to Baumgertner, 53, who disappeared from his home in Limassol on January 7. His body was found a week later on Avdimou beach, an area that falls within a British-controlled military zone on the island.
Investigators said inquiries into the circumstances and cause of death are ongoing, and no conclusions have yet been released. Baumgertner’s family has been notified.
Baumgertner was a central figure in a major geopolitical business clash more than a decade ago. As CEO of Uralkali, he was placed under house arrest in Belarus in 2013 after a breakdown in relations between Uralkali and its state-linked Belarusian trading partner.
At the time, the dispute sent shockwaves through global fertilizer markets. Uralkali and Belarusian Potash Co. together controlled roughly a quarter of the world’s potash supply, and fears of a price war briefly rattled agricultural and commodity sectors.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko accused Baumgertner and Uralkali of harming the Belarusian economy after the Russian company exited the joint venture. Baumgertner was released after two months and extradited to Russia, where prosecutors later opened an abuse-of-office case.
In recent years, Baumgertner had been living in Cyprus, a hub for Russian expatriates and business figures. Authorities have not indicated whether his past corporate disputes or political history are considered relevant to the current investigation.
