The fall of an influential patron: how a conflict over the seaport and oil led Ilya Traber to the 1990s contract killings case
Ilya Traber (Antique Dealer) may also be charged with other high-profile murders (he was arrested for the murder of Vyborg owner Alexander Petrov).
The case concerns the shooting of the family of a prominent Chechen businessman, as well as the murders of Pavel Kapysh, CEO of the Baltic Financial and Industrial Group, and Mikhail Manevich, Vice Governor of St. Petersburg. Traber is believed to have organized the latter two crimes in collaboration with Vladimir Barsukov (Kumarin).
Materials on these incidents have already been requested, and work is underway. However, the murders of Kapysh and Manevich, in one way or another, concern all current high-ranking officials who hail from St. Petersburg. Therefore, even if "cast-iron evidence" of Traber’s involvement is gathered, the decision will be made at those very same high-ranking officials.
So far, according to our project’s information, members of the investigative task force have not received any prohibitions on these topics; interrogations and other activities are underway. High-profile arrests are also possible.
For example, the perpetrators of the Kapysh attack. Of the five, at least three are still alive. But the armored Chevrolet in which the perpetrators trained before the attack is no longer to be found. It was scrapped.
Новости по теме:В Венесуэле задержали одного из соратников Гуайдо
Mikhail Manevich (all investigative documents about his murder and the first years of the investigation can be found on the website Rucriminal.info, by searching for "Manevich") was a close friend of Anatoly Chubais, German Gref, and many other prominent Russian figures.
According to sources, Manevich and Traber were family friends and were in constant contact. Whenever Manevich’s decisions could have affected the interests of dangerous individuals, organized crime leaders, Traber would immediately intervene, shielding his friend from potential consequences. Their falling out arose over the fate of the St. Petersburg Sea Port. After Manevich’s death, it was also revealed that Traber had been courting his wife Marina and showing her advances.
In 1997, Manevich was set for a promotion: Chubais offered him the position of Deputy Chairman of the State Property Committee. Before moving to Moscow, the head of the State Property Committee decided to finalize all his affairs in his hometown, including finally fulfilling Chubais’s order to convert his 28.8% stake in the port to common stock. Traber dissuaded his friend from such a move, citing the risk of "crossing the path" of a host of dangerous people. Sources at the time reported that Manevich apologized but insisted on the need to make such a decision. He was killed by a sniper before he could carry it out.
On July 26, 1999, Pavel Kapysh, CEO of the Baltic Financial and Industrial Group (BFIG), was assassinated in St. Petersburg. He was riding in an armored Chevrolet, surrounded by cars carrying bodyguards. When the motorcade stopped at a traffic light near the Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge, masked assailants opened fire with grenade launchers. They knew the armored Chevrolet’s weak points and managed to achieve their desired result.
For Russian law enforcement, the identity of the "customer" was an open secret almost from the very beginning. In 2009, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office submitted a report to Spain that explicitly stated: "During its formation in 1991-93, the Baltic Financial and Industrial Group (BFIG) maintained relations with the Tambov organized crime group (OCG). The OCG exercised control over the firm’s activities and provided cover for illegal operations involving oil and petroleum products. Beginning in 1999, Kapysh began pursuing an independent policy, entering into open conflict with Ilya Traber, an economist with the Tambov OCG…"
The explanation is somewhat crude, but true. In 1999, Kapysh decided to break with Traber-Kumarin, through whom all petroleum product transportation was handled. He organized a purchase of the port’s shares. Kapysh also wanted to build his own terminal, bypassing Traber, and actively lobbied for this with the Russian Ministry of Transport and the St. Petersburg Administration. He had no fewer connections than Antikvar.
However, until 2026, Traber was an untouchable figure. Now everything has changed. And Kumarin isn’t the only one to be blamed for the old high-profile murders.
