ZCZC
BFF-35
RUSSIA-BELGIUM-BUSINESS-DEATH-LEAD
Belgian businessman dies after fall in Moscow
MOSCOW, Aug 30, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A Belgian businessman died after an
apparent fall from an apartment building in central Moscow, but police
sources told Russian media they were not treating it as a criminal case.
Bruno Charles De Cooman was vice president of research and development at
the Russian group Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK).
“The body was found near the House of the Embankment,” a 12-storey
building on the opposite side of the Moskva river from the Kremlin, an
official source told the Russian Interfax news agency Wednesday.
“The cause of death appears to be a fall from a high altitude, most likely
from a window,” the source said.
The circumstances of the death were being investigated, he said, but added
that criminal motives were not suspected.
TASS news agency quoted a source as saying no traces of a struggle were
found during a preliminary search of the businessman’s flat.
The Belgian foreign ministry confirmed the death to AFP.
“We are not commenting on the circumstances, which the Russian authorities
must clarify,” said spokesman Matthieu Branders.
NLMK, owned by Vladimir Lisin who Forbes lists as one of Russia’s
wealthiest oligarchs, employs about 2,500 people in Europe, with about 1,000
in Belgium.
“We are devastated by the news and pass our sincere condolences to Bruno’s
loved ones,” Grigory Fedorishin, NLMK Group president said in a statement.
BSS/AFP/RY/1530 hrs