MOSCOW, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Alexander Shkadov, chief executive of Russia's
biggest diamond processing plant Kristall, was shot dead in an apparent contract
killing, Russian media reported on Sunday.
Police in Smolensk, an ancient town west of Moscow, were quoted by Russian
television and Itar-Tass news agency as saying they did not exclude commercial
or political motives behind the murder on Saturday.
Shkadov was also a deputy of the Smolensk regional parliament and chaired
Russia's Diamond Producers' Association.
Russian television showed Shkadov's corpse with multiple wounds lying close
to the ivy-clad fence of his country cottage in a pool of blood. Police found
more than a dozen spent cartridge cases and a silencer from a pistol near the
spot.
The television also quoted police as saying the attacker or attackers
clearly knew that Shkadov liked to take a walk in the morning before driving to
work.
Kristall, a gem cutting and polishing complex, is capable of processing some
$500 million worth of rough diamonds a year. It gets rough stones directly from
Russia's diamond monopoly Almazy Rossii-Sakha and markets its produce abroad.
Contract murders of businessmen, bankers and even state officials are not
uncommon in Russia, where violent organised crime has flourished since the
collapse of the Soviet regime.
REUTERS
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