Body found on Avdimou beach identified as missing Russian

A body found on January 15 in Avdimou has been identified as 56-year-old Russian businessman and former CEO of fertiliser giant Uralkali, Vladislav Baumgartner, who had been missing since January 7, it was reported on Wednesday.

The DNA identification was carried out by the British bases and the relatives of the deceased have been informed.

Baumgartner had been reported missing after disappearing from his home in Pissouri.

His body had been retrieved from the Avdimou beach by the British bases, which are investigating the conditions and cause of death.

Baumgartner became internationally prominent in August 2013 when he was arrested at Minsk airport in Belarus while travelling for talks with the Belarusian prime minister.

The arrest followed the collapse of cooperation between Uralkali and the Belarusian state-owned producer Belaruskali, a dispute that became known as the “potash war”.

Baumgartner was charged with abuse of power and held in detention before being extradited to Moscow in November that year.

He was placed under house arrest and later dismissed from his role at Uralkali.

The charges were dropped in 2015, with the case widely viewed at the time as politically driven amid strained relations between Moscow and Minsk.

After the case was closed, Baumgartner returned to senior business roles, including leadership positions in port and logistics companies, and in recent years had been living in Cyprus.