Sep.1 (GMM) Russian investigators have dropped the case against businessman Ilya Traber over the 2020 murder of Alexander Petrov, the father of former Formula 1 driver Vitaly Petrov.
Alexander Petrov, a businessman and local politician, was shot dead near Vyborg in October 2020.
Traber, 75, was arrested in June this year after investigators accused him and associate Vladimir Danilenko of organising the killing.
He was released from Moscow’s Lefortovo pre-trial detention centre on August 27, initially reportedly because of a deterioration in his health.
But Russian state agencies TASS and RIA subsequently reported that the Investigative Committee had gone further and closed the case against Traber entirely.
According to Fontanka, investigators concluded that he had a “complete lack of involvement” in Petrov’s murder, with Traber also gaining the right to seek compensation for his detention.
Traber is a prominent St Petersburg businessman whose interests have included ports and oil terminals, and whose past links to Vladimir Putin’s circle have attracted considerable attention.
The investigation into Petrov’s killing has involved several other suspects and is understood to remain ongoing.