Russia drops all charges against businessman Ilya Traber, state media report

Russian investigators have dropped ​murder charges against ​prominent businessman Ilya ‌Traber and freed ​him from custody, state media reported on Monday. Traber, 75, has been ‌a leading business figure for decades in St Petersburg, where he has held extensive investments in ports and logistics. He ‌was detained in June in connection with the fatal shooting ‌of a businessman and politician, Alexander Petrov, in 2020, Russian media reported at the time.

State-run new agencies TASS and RIA reported ⁠on ​Monday that all ⁠charges against Traber had been dropped and the investigation into him closed. ⁠He had already been released from pre-trial detention on health ​grounds, TASS said. There was no official confirmation of the ⁠reports.

Traber first came to prominence in the 1990s, following the collapse ⁠of ​the Soviet Union, when he acquired control of St Petersburg's sea port and oil terminal at a ⁠time when President Vladimir Putin was a deputy mayor in the ⁠city's ⁠administration. The Kremlin has previously denied any friendship or business connections between Traber and Putin.