Mystery surrounded the fate of a wealthy Russian businessman on Monday amid claims by an online media outlet that he died after a mystic healer used toxin from a toad for a traditional treatment.
The Russian Telegram news channel Mash said that Alexander Subbotin, a former executive for the energy giant Lukoil, died after the treatment by a shaman in the Moscow suburb of Mytishchi.
Mash said that Mr Subbotin felt unwell and went to lie down after the treatment but was later found dead.
The reports, which have not been verified, follow a string of other deaths involving wealthy Russians linked to the oil and gas sector in recent months, some with close ties to the country’s leadership.
Two wealthy businessman and members of their families were found dead in Spain’s Costa Brava and in Moscow last month after what initially appeared to be murder-suicides.
Sergey Protosenya, a former executive at the natural gas company Novotek with a multi-million-dollar fortune, was found hanged at a Spanish villa, where his wife and daughter were also found dead with stab wounds.
Spanish police are working on a theory that Mr Protosenya killed his wife and daughter before killing himself, according to media reports.
The bodies were discovered a day after the bodies of Vladislav Avayev, his wife and 13-year-old daughter were found in their Moscow flat. Mr Avayev had worked as a senior official at Gazprombank, a bank that served Gazprom, the gas giant.
Another Russian oil and gas tycoon was found dead at his £18 million ($24m) home in the UK after he was hit hard by the invasion of Ukraine in February.
Mikhail Watford, 66, a father of three, made his fortune through oil and gas from the former Soviet republic, before establishing a property company in Britain. He is believed to have been born in Ukraine and held a Russian passport.
British police said there were not believed to be any suspicious circumstances.
But the cases cast new light on other deaths of other executives before Russian troops invaded Ukraine.
Leonid Schulman, 60, a senior manager at Gazprom, reportedly killed himself in January at his home in the Leningrad district of Russia.
The following month a former manager at the energy giant, Alexander Tyulyakov, was found dead at his home in St Petersburg, state-owned German news outlet Deutsche Welle reported.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: seven-speed PDK dual clutch automatic
Power: 375bhp
Torque: 520Nm
Price: Dh332,800
On sale: now
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz S 450
Price, base / as tested Dh525,000 / Dh559,000
Engine: 3.0L V6 biturbo
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 369hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm at 1,800rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.0L / 100km
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
