Investigative Committee ends prosecution of Ilya Traber in the murder case of Alexander Petrov

The Investigative Committee has ended the criminal prosecution of St. Petersburg businessman Ilya Traber in the murder case of entrepreneur and municipal deputy Alexander Petrov. According to Fontanka, the charges were dropped due to Traber’s complete non-involvement in the murder; this was later confirmed to TASS by lawyer Igor Sochiyants.

Traber was accused of involvement in the murder of Alexander Petrov in 2020. Petrov was shot in the Leningrad region in October 2020.

The businessman was detained on June 17, 2026, and sent to the Lefortovo pretrial detention center in Moscow. On August 27, the investigator ordered his release because of a sharp deterioration in his health, and the lawyers presented medical reports.

After his release, Traber returned to St. Petersburg. Along with him, his business partner Vladimir Danilenko was arrested in the case, as well as Alisultan Nadirbegov and Sait Saladinov, whom the investigation named as the killers; their current status has not been reported.

Traber is a major St. Petersburg entrepreneur whose assets are tied to port infrastructure, logistics, and the oil and gas sector. In the media, he was also called an “influential businessman” nicknamed Antikvar, and reports mentioned alleged ties to the criminal underworld; Traber himself sought to have such claims retracted through the courts.

Traber is considered a longtime acquaintance of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Sources

• Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty