A Russian crypto billionaire has died in a helicopter crash near the French-Italian border, this marks another “sudden death”of a figure in the cryptocurrency world.
A respected Russian financier based in Monaco who died in a mystery helicopter crash in France had links to Moscow’s foreign intelligence, according to Ukrainian claims.
Vyacheslav Taran, 53, founder of Forex Club and Libertex, died in Villefranche-sur-Mer, confirmed the Russian embassy in Paris.
He was flying from Lausanne in Switzerland with an experienced pilot in a Monacair H130 helicopter when the crash occurred.
The pilot, aged in his 30s, was also killed, say reports. No cause has been so far established. “The Board of Directors of Libertex Group and company employees extend their most heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the Taran family.”
Taran was “well-known and highly respected businessman, described as kind-hearted, polite and humble by everyone who was fortunate enough to know him”, said his company.
A formal investigation has been launched into the crash by the French authorities with involvement by Airbus, makers of the H130.
In Monaco, his operations were seen as entirely respectable, and there has been an outpouring of condolences to his wife and family.
But Kyiv news agency UNIAN said Taran was a “billionaire crypto businessman with likely ties to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service” who had died in a “freak” crash.
Citing no proof, the report alleged he was linked to the SVR foreign espionage agency and was responsible for “laundering Russian funds through a system of cryptocurrency operations”.
In Monaco, his operations were seen as entirely respectable, and there has been an outpouring of condolences to his wife and family.
But Kyiv news agency UNIAN said Taran was a “billionaire crypto businessman with likely ties to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service” who had died in a “freak” crash.
Citing no proof, the report alleged he was linked to the SVR foreign espionage agency and was responsible for “laundering Russian funds through a system of cryptocurrency operations”.
Vyacheslav Taran, 53, founder of Forex Club and president of the Libertex Group, was the sole passenger of a helicopter that crashed in Villefranche-sur-Mer this weekend, according to multiple reports.
“It is with great sadness that Libertex Group confirms the death of its co-founder and Chairman of Board of Directors, Vyacheslav Taran, after a helicopter crash,” the firm, which bills itself as a leading foreign exchange and crypto trading platform, said in a statement.
Taran was traveling in an Airbus H130 Lucerne, Switzerland, to Monaco when it crashed, according to local reports.
Both Taran and the helicopter’s 35-year-old French pilot were killed, the France Bleu radio network reported.
In his passing, Taran also joins a long line of Russian billionaires who have died under mysterious circumstances this year.
Taran’s company, Forex Club — a reference to the foreign exchange global market on which currencies are traded — was stripped of its license in Russia in 2018 for allegedly ripping off investors, according to a report by Life, a pro-Kremlin Russian media outlet.
The deaths, often reported as suicides, have included energy, oil, finance and shipping bosses as well oligarchs and millionaires.
But three crypto stars have all died in recent weeks. Tiantian Kullander, 30, died ‘in his sleep’ last week, while millionaire Nikolai Mushegian, 29, drowned on a Puerto Rico beach.
Mr Kullander, the co-founder of the Hong Kong-based digital asset company Amber Group, ‘unexpectedly’ died on November 23, the company said.
Mr Mushegian died only hours after tweeting that he heard the CIA and Mossad, America and Israel’s national intelligence agencies, were going to murder him.
How the crash occurred on a day with blue skies as they took off from Lausanne, Switzerland has raised eyebrows over Mr Taran’s death.
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