Karl-Erivan Haub, a German-American billionaire, who mysteriously disappeared six years ago near Switzerland’s iconic Matterhorn peak, is now believed to be residing in Moscow with a Russian girlfriend, according to a recent investigation.
Haub, a retail tycoon and former managing director of Tengelmann Group, vanished in April 2018 while training for a ski mountaineering race in Zermatt, Switzerland, and was presumed dead.
According to MailOnline News, the billionaire’s disappearance baffled authorities and the public alike. Despite extensive search efforts, including five helicopters and teams of alpine rescuers combing the area for six days, his body was never recovered.
Consequently, a Cologne court declared him dead three years later, leaving behind a wife, two children, and a vast business empire.
However, a recent investigation led by German broadcaster RTL has shaken the assumptions surrounding Haub’s fate.
According to the investigation, Haub has been allegedly identified in Moscow, accompanied by a much younger mistress named Veronika Ermilova.
Haub, now aged 64, allegedly called Ermilova’s phone 13 times straight in three days before he disappeared, prompting suspicions of a potential plot to fake his death with assistance from Moscow according to the probe by RTL and media outlet Stern.
Veronika Ermilova, 44, described as an ‘inconspicuous’ event agency owner in St. Petersburg, is also suspected of having ties to Russia’s FSB security service.
Investigators suggested that she “may work for the Russian domestic secret service FSB’, although stressed this ‘cannot be proven.
The probe exposed several instances where Haub and Ermilova were in the same locations simultaneously, raising questions about the nature of their relationship and its potential implications.
“What can be proven, however, is that she is always in the same places at the same time as Karl-Erivan Haub.
“In July 2008, both were in Moscow and Sochi within a few days… In May 2009, both travelled on the same night train from Moscow to St Petersburg, in separate compartments. The trips were booked at the same time and by the same person.
“Strange too, Ermilova came to Moscow the day before just to take the train back home.
“Further overlaps of short trips by Haub and Ermilova can be found for stays in Omsk (2010), Sochi (2011), Baku (2014) and Moscow (2015, 2017)” the report says.
RTL journalist Liv von Boetticher, speculated that Haub’s dealings with questionable individuals in the Russian economy might have played a role in his disappearance.
Furthermore, the investigation implicated Haub’s connections with Russian figures, including banker Andrey Suzdaltsev and notorious fraudster Sergey Grishin, known as the ‘Scarface Oligarch.’