A Russian diplomat who died in Cyprus last week was reportedly an undercover intelligence officer

The last two weeks have brought not one but two mysteries surrounding Russian men in Cyprus. The first involved Vladislav Baumgertner, the former CEO of a major potash producer, who went missing after leaving for a rock climbing trip on January 7. Then, a day later, diplomat Anton Panov died in a reported suicide in the Russian Embassy in Nicosia. According to subsequent media reports, he was working for Russian intelligence. It’s unclear whether the incidents are connected — or if they have to do with a separate ongoing Cypriot political scandal. Here’s what we know.

On January 8, Russian diplomat and suspected intelligence officer Anton Panov died inside the Russian Embassy in Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus. The embassy announced his death four days later, on January 12.

Cypriot media reported that Panov died by suicide in his office. According to these reports, embassy staff notified local police several hours after his death and handed over the body, but refused to grant investigators access to the office itself. The staff also told police that Panov had left a suicide note, which was sent to Moscow.

Soon after Panov’s death, independent Russian media outlets — along with the Telegram channel VChK-OGPU, which claims to have sources inside Russia’s security services — reported that the 47-year-old was a cryptography specialist who had worked with Russian intelligence agencies.

A long career in intelligence

Panov spent 17 years at Russia’s Foreign Ministry and was also linked to both military intelligence and the Federal Security Service (FSB). According to The Insider, he studied at the academy of the Federal Protective Service (FSO) in Voronezh. In the early 2000s, he worked at the Atlas Research and Technology Center, an institution that reported directly to the FSB, according to the outlets iStories and Agentstvo.

He joined the Foreign Ministry in 2008 and by 2013 had attained the rank of senior specialist. A ministry source told The Insider that Panov’s hiring was facilitated by Ilya Sosnovsky, an aide to far-right Liberal Democratic Party of Russia leader Leonid Slutsky who is known for his close ties to security services.

Multiple outlets have linked Panov to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). At the time he joined the Foreign Ministry, according to The Insider, he “was in operational contact with SVR Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Petrishchev.” Agentstvo also connected Panov to military unit 33949, a known cover designation for the SVR.

There is no direct evidence that Panov formally served in the SVR. However, iStories found that after joining the Foreign Ministry, he moved to the village of Sosenskoye near Moscow’s Yasenevo district. His apartment was about a 10-minute drive from the SVR’s headquarters, located in a nearby forest.

Friends in high places

The Insider obtained Panov’s phone billing records from the period shortly before his assignment to Cyprus. According to iStories, social media posts by Panov’s family suggest they arrived on the island in late summer or early fall of 2025.

The records show that Panov communicated with several senior Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. His contacts also included:

• Bakhtier Khakimov, adviser to the foreign minister
• Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov
• Deputy Foreign Minister Galina Shulga
• Andrey Lysikov, head of the Foreign Ministry’s Currency and Finance Department
• Yevgeny Stanislavov, Russia’s ambassador to Hungary
• Andrey Lanchikov, chargé d’affaires at the Russian Embassy in Uzbekistan
• Oleg Vasnetsov, former Russian ambassador to Moldova

The Insider noted that Lysikov’s department is frequently associated with SVR and GRU officers working under diplomatic cover.

Panov was also in contact with someone listed in his phone as “Sasha Sniper.” The Insider reported that this was likely Alexander Borisov, a native of the now-occupied Ukrainian city of Luhansk who is known for filing denunciations against opposition politicians and independent media. Panov also called Sergey Tsekov, a former senator representing Russian-annexed Crimea who is wanted by Ukraine’s Interior Ministry.

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A simultaneous scandal

Panov’s death came one day after the disappearance of Vladislav Baumgertner, the former CEO of the Russian potash producer Uralkali, who also lived in Cyprus. Baumgertner reportedly went rock climbing on January 7 and then stopped responding to messages.

On January 14, a heavily decomposed body was discovered on the coast near Limassol. That same day, Fontanka, citing sources, reported that the body belonged to Baumgertner. Local media confirmed this on January 15.

Cyprus police have not officially confirmed Baumgertner’s death. According to the Telegram channel 112, which is linked to REN TV, the body has been identified and investigators do not suspect foul play. Baumgertner’s acquaintance Alexey Dozortsev told Russian state media that the death may have been accidental.

Meanwhile, on the day of Panov’s death, Cyprus was shaken by a separate political scandal. A video surfaced online allegedly showing senior officials discussing corrupt schemes to finance President Nikos Christodoulides’s election campaign — including ways to help Russian nationals circumvent E.U. sanctions. Shortly afterward presidential chief of staff Charalambos Charalambous announced his resignation.

Whether Panov’s death, Baumgertner’s disappearance, and the corruption scandal are connected remains unclear.