Vladimir Putin’s ‘repressions man’ dies in mysterious circumstances sparking assassination rumours

Vladimir Putin’s government pushed through draconian laws that force telecom operators to store audio recordings of all calls and text messages for six months.

The regulations also oblige them to keep all the data on people’s Internet traffic for a month.

In this harsh political environment in Russia, one company clearly stood out when it comes to widespread wiretapping.

ICS Holding that appealed to the spycraft-obsessed Kremlin leader most, became 'almost a monopoly' on the lucrative activity.

It's not surprising that the sudden death of its head, young entrepreneur Anton Cherepennikov, sent shockwaves across the Russian political elite.

Cherepennikov was often described as Vladimir Putin’s ‘repressions man’.

Here is what we know about his mysterious death that sparked speculations about the sinking ‘Russian warship’.

Putin’s ‘repression man’ found dead in the office

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine saw thousands of those disagreeing with it get arrested or flee the country.

Independent media had to either relocate abroad to shut down.

The devastating war also meant the internal vigilance intensified to help the government tackle disloyalty.

Earlier this week Russian sources reported that the most important man in Vladimir Putin's internet and phone tapping activity and a head of ICS Holding Anton Cherepennikov has died suddenly at the age of 40.

The ‘spy lord’s body was found in his office in Moscow.

Although the preliminary reason behind his death was named 'cardiac arrest', one of his longtime friends Vasily Polonsky treats it with suspicion.

He said:

I do not believe [he died of] cardiac arrest.

Russian opposition media called Cherepennikov ‘an absolutely key tool in Putin's repression’ and reported that ‘the exact cause of the entrepreneur's death will be determined later.’

The sources commented:

His assassination cannot be ruled out as the security apparatus becomes desperate due to the failing war.

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Who was Anton Cherepennikov?

Cherepennikov studied at the prestigious Bauman Moscow State Technical University and Moscow State University of Civil Engineering.

Savvy entrepreneur, he started off by importing Blackberry phones and selling computers and printers.

He was allegedly very close to his 'idol', Kremlin-friendly oligarch Alisher Usmanov, formerly a shareholder of Arsenal football club in London.

Cherepennikov was considered the key player behind SORM - 'the system of technical means to ensure the functions of operational-search activities', or ‘total wiretapping of Russians’.

His ICS Holding was described as 'almost a monopoly’ in this lucrative field as it worked closely with Putin's feared FSB security service.

The company made a profit of £172 million a year for their operations, it was reported.

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Sources used:

- Daily Mail: Key figure in Putin's internet and phone-tapping operation dies suddenly aged 40 of 'cardiac arrest'