Russian general overseeing construction of alleged £1billion palace linked to Putin dies mysteriously

A senior Russian military official responsible for managing the development of a purported £1 billion palace connected to Vladimir Putin has passed away.

Gennady Lopyrev is the second high-ranking military figure to have died unexpectedly in recent days.

The 69-year-old fell seriously ill on Monday while incarcerated, displaying respiratory distress. Medical professionals subsequently informed him that he had an undisclosed case of leukemia.

There are now suspicions surrounding the general’s demise, as he was in the process of becoming eligible for parole. He had been serving a 10-year sentence since 2017 on charges of bribery totaling over six million rubles, along with illegal possession of weaponry. He consistently denied these allegations.

Having served within the Federal Protection Service [FSO], Lopyrev directly supervised the construction of Putin’s opulent Gelendzhik Palace, situated on the cliffs along the Black Sea. The extravagant property gained notoriety from a viral video by Alexei Navalny, revealing lavish gifts bestowed upon the political leader by associates.

The Kremlin critic previously pinpointed Lopyrev as the individual privy to all the mansion’s secrets.

Lopyrev also held responsibility for Putin’s official residence, Bocharov Ruchei, located in Sochi. Until his imprisonment, he had been one of Putin’s most trusted security advisors, even appearing alongside the Russian president and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Moscow back in 2002.

For an extended period, some regarded his conviction as an attempt to remove him from the scene through fabricated charges.

In the hours preceding his demise, he communicated with his son Alexander, who emphasized the absence of any health-related grievances.