Karl-Erivan Haub, former head of retail chain, may need faked his personal demise to flee to Russia, broadcaster RTL claims
Karl-Erivan Haub, the previous head of a German retail big Tengelmann Group, disappeared at an Alpine ski resort six years in the past. Now, German broadcaster RTL claims that the businessman, who had lengthy been declared lifeless, might be alive and kicking, and will have secretly labored for Russia.
Haub was final seen in April 2018 in Zermatt, Switzerland, the place he was getting ready for a ski race. He vanished with no hint after taking a ski elevate up a mountain alone. A six-day search operation involving 5 helicopters and a number of other specialised rescue groups yielded no outcomes. The then-58-year-old’s physique has not been discovered.
The businessman and married father of two was formally pronounced lifeless by a Cologne courtroom three years later, in 2021, after his youthful brother, Christian, who took over his enterprise empire, swore beneath oath that he had seen no indications that his relative may nonetheless be alive.
Now, Liv von Boetticher, an RTL journalist, claims that Karl-Ervian Haub should be alive. Proof the reporter claims to have collected over a three-year investigation “demonstrates convincingly” that the businessman may have “intentionally staged his disappearance” and that no less than some members of his household have been nicely conscious of that. The broadcaster additionally launched a sequence of podcasts detailing von Boetticher’s investigation.
The reporter claimed in Stern journal that Christian had initiated an inside Tengelmann Group investigation after his brother’s disappearance and, later, had additionally employed a number of non-public investigative corporations, together with ones primarily based in Russia. The journalist additionally said that she’d personally seen pictures of the businessman, taken in Moscow in February 2021 by a number of the non-public investigators employed by his brother.
”No proof” of an accident was discovered on the website in Switzerland of Haub’s now-alleged disappearance, von Boetticher informed German broadcaster n-tv, including that the monitor had as a substitute “led to Russia.” Based on the journalist, the businessman had talked extensively to a Russian lady recognized as Veronika Ermilova, earlier than vanishing with no hint. Haub had reportedly referred to as her cellphone greater than a dozen occasions in three days earlier than going lacking. Von Boetticher claimed the girl was his “mistress” and was linked to the Russian Federal Safety Service (FSB).
Based on the reporter, the 2 have been additionally steadily “in the identical locations on the identical time” over various years. In 2008, they have been each in Moscow and Sochi inside just a few days. In 2009, they traveled from Moscow to St. Petersburg on the identical prepare. In addition they made simultaneous quick journeys to the identical locations in 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2017, von Boetticher found.
The journalist claimed additional that the German billionaire had different connections in Russia, together with banker Andrey Suzdaltsev and Russian-American businessman Sergey Grishin. The latter had beforehand presupposed to have been “robbing” the Russian banking system within the Nineteen Nineties.
Von Boetticher informed Die Welt final 12 months that Haub “may have labored as a type of agent of affect for Russia in Germany,” including that she additionally was within the FSB’s crosshairs, due to her investigation.
In 2023, RTL journalists filed a grievance with the Cologne Prosecutor’s Workplace, accusing Haub’s brother Christian of getting made false statements earlier than the courtroom. German regulation enforcement officers initially refused to open an investigation however modified their stance after the reporters approached the Prosecutor Basic’s Workplace, which ordered {that a} probe be launched.
Earlier this month, the Prosecutor’s Workplace confirmed to information company dpa that proceedings had been initiated in opposition to Christian Haub for allegedly mendacity to the courtroom. Legislation enforcement officers particularly said that that they had no purpose to overview a courtroom resolution, beneath which Karl-Erivan Haub was declared lifeless.
Russian officers haven’t commented on the scenario. Veronika Ermilova, who was contacted by the Russian media, denounced the RTL report as an “unverified faux.” She stated she was “not dwelling with a billionaire” and denied any connections to any safety companies.
Ermilova stated she had beforehand labored for a St Petersburg-based occasion company that had dealings with Haub. A lawyer for Christian Haub additionally informed journalists that there was “no reality” in accusations in opposition to his shopper, including that they have been primarily based on “incorrect info.”
RT couldn’t independently confirm von Boetticher’s claims.
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