News about Igor Sechin

The death of shadowy Ivan Sechin, 35 (left), the heir of wealthy Igor Sechin (right with Putin), was unveiled for two weeks before being leaked this week. He is the latest in dozens of mysterious deaths in Ukraine, many in the energy sector, since Putin's war in Ukraine two years ago. It comes amid rumors that the sons and daughters of Putin's ageing circle are set to gain fresh political and corporate clout with significant staff changes after the autocrat wins next month's presidential election. Many former Russian oligarchs who left their homeland to escape Putin's fury were among a notary who announced Ivan's death.

Cluff African Resources is currently in talks to buy into a Ghana project. If this goes further, the company may be producing the yellow metal in a year or less. It is also trying to obtain mining licenses in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and other countries. The 82-year-old, who was at the forefront of the North Sea oil boom as part of the company that first established the Buchan field in 1974, has operated a number of companies around the continent. His ties go beyond work; he was escorting him to Cameroon in the 1960s as a member of the Grenadier Guards.

Around 5,50 a.m. local time, a huge explosion rocked Angarsk Oil Refinery, near the Siberian city of Irkutsk, killing two people and injuring five others in the country's latest blast to threaten Russian infrastructure. The plant manufactures jet fuel and diesel, which can be used by Russia's military and is owned by Putin's crony Igor Sechin. The explosion was due to 'gas contamination' of the plant's machinery, which was so accurate it was registered on nearby equipment that could detect earthquakes, but it is not yet clear if the contamination was accidental or the result of sabotage. In recent weeks, similar explosions have wreaked havoc on Russian oil storage facilities in Kursk and Bryansk, while more have occurred at military bases in what are widely believed to be orchestrated by Ukraine.

Last night, MPs and activists blasted the company for its'business as normal' strategy and its'shocking' inability to remove or sell the investment. Following the invasion of Ukraine, BP, which has owned almost 20% of the Russian state-backed energy company since 2013, has promised to sever ties in February.

Despite being barred from doing business in Ukraine due to the conflict, Russia's second largest oil company also increased its revenues by almost a third to $86.7 billion in the first half of this year.

According to opposition news outlet Dossier Centre, the luxurious 460-foot Scheherazade is believed to have been used by the Kremlin leader's 'lover' Alina Kabaeva, 39. According to new information, a group of Russian oligarchs led by Gennady Timchenko, 69, a close Putin crony, was able to recover the yacht, which was now confiscated in Italy due to sanctions. The super yacht's captain, Briton Guy Bennett-Pierce, was announced in March, but the crew was mainly staffed by Russian secret service officers.