Both Sergei Protosenya and Vladislav Avayev were not on an international sanctions list in the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
Police in northeastern Spain said they work in the murders of a Russian woman and her daughter last week as a case of domestic violence and that the husband, a russian oligarch who also appeared dead, is the prime suspect.
A spokeswoman for the Girona regional police said investigators have ruled that the murders were unrelated with any act of a criminal gang or with a similar case occurring this week in Moscow.
Police found the bodies of two Russian women on Tuesday. –a 53-year-old mother and an 18-year-old daughter– with stab wounds in bed at home in the popular tourist town of Lloret de Mar, north of Barcelona.
The husband, whose name is Sergei Protosenya, 55 years old, was found hanged in the yard.
The Spanish state news agency said police also found a blood-stained knife and an ax in the house.
Protosenya, who according to the Spanish media was very wealthy, was a former top executive of Novatek, one of the main producers of natural gas in Russia.
Dead Russian oligarchs
On April 18, the Russian state news agency Tass reported that Vladislav Avayev, former vice president of Gazprombank, and his wife and daughter were found dead in his Moscow apartment.
It quoted an anonymous source who reportedly told Tass that it is believed that Avayev shot his wife and daughter and then killed himself.
“A wonderful family man”
Novatek, for its part, issued a statement on Thursday expressing its condolences to “all those affected by this tragic situation.”
The statement referred to Protosenya as a former member of the company’s board of directors. He described him as “an exceptional person and a wonderful family man” who helped develop the company.
“Sadly, there has been speculation in the media on this subject, but we are convinced that this speculation bears no relation to reality,” Novatek said.
The Spanish police spokeswoman said that police went to the house in Lloret de Mar. This, following the son of the family in France became concerned regarding not being able to contact his relatives.
The family owned the house in Lloret de Mar and stayed there frequently, but it was not immediately known if they also resided elsewhere. The city council observed a minute of silence for the victims on Wednesday.
The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, published a tweet on Wednesday offering his condolences to the family.
A man kills his wife and daughter in Girona. The #GenderViolence and the #VicariousViolence they leave us two cruel murders. Two lives taken by a structural problem that we must eradicate: machismo. Let’s educate in feminism, let’s advance in equality.
My love to the family https://t.co/Fb0oSV5XqF– Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) April 20, 2022
The Minister of Equality, Irene Montero, also condemned the murders.
Authorities say 12 women have been killed so far this year by domestic violence in Spain and 1,138 since 2003, the year the country began keeping records.
Girona police said the police report on the case is expected to be completed soon and handed over to a court in the nearby city of Blanes.
Other cases
As reported by Fortune, the deaths of Avayev and Protosenya and their families come following Russian oligarchs were found dead. The above, under mysterious circumstances earlier this year.
Shulman, head of Gazprom’s transport service, was reportedly found with stab wounds to his wrists. This, while Tyulyakov was found hanged in a garage near St. Petersburg.
