Vyacheslav Taran: Crypto billionaire with 'spy ties' dies in 'freak' helicopter crash
VILLEFRANCHE-SUR-MER, FRANCE: A Russian crypto billionaire who died in a mysterious helicopter crash in France on Friday afteroon, November 25, had links to Moscow’s foreign intelligence, according to Ukrainian claims.
Vyacheslav Taran, 53, founder of trading and investment platform Forex Club and Libertex, was killed in a crash near the city of Villefranche-sur-Mer, confirmed the Russian embassy in Paris. Taran was flying from Lausanne in Switzerland with a 35-year-old experienced French pilot in a Monacair H130 helicopter when the accident happened in the Alpes-Maritimes, in the southeast of France. As per the reports, the pilot also died in the crash.
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A passenger who was supposed to ride the helicopter with the Russian crypto billionaire Vyacheslav Taran ‘canceled’ last minute. pic.twitter.com/AKUcTCZ3Rf
— Crypto Dreams (@thecryptodreams) November 29, 2022
Reports in Russia indicate towards another unidentified passenger was supposed to join Taran on the flight on the VIP helicopter, but mysteriously canceled at the last minute.
Monaco Daily News reports suggest that the accident took place at 1 pm on November 25, when the single-engine light helicopter Eurocopter EC130 (H130) operated by Monacair crashed near Monaco, according to The Sun. The Deputy Public Prosecutor of Nice visited the place where the crash occurred and stated that the third party is liable.
The Ukrainian news agency UNIAN described Taran as a "billionaire crypto businessman with likely ties to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service" who died in a "freak" accident. The report also alleges that the highly successful offshore specialist was connected to the SVR foreign espionage agency and responsible for “laundering Russian funds through a system of cryptocurrency operations.” Pro-war Russian Telegram channel Marat Bashirov headlined the accident as a “clean-up” operation with no further explanation for their allegation.
Taran hails from Vladivostok and was married to his Russian wife Olga, founder of Hello Monaco media. The couple shared three children. In Monaco, his operations were taken as entirely respectable which has resulted in an outpour of condolences to his grieving family and friends, as reported by The Mirror.
The financier’s company said in a statement, "It is with great sadness that Libertex Group confirms the death of its co-founder and Chairman of Board of Directors, Vyacheslav Taran, after a helicopter crash that took place en route to Monaco on Friday, 25 November 2022. The Board of Directors of Libertex Group and company employees extend their most heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the Taran family."
The Government of Monaco also issued a statement expressing its condolences to the victim's families and said that it "shares the pain caused by this tragedy."
The French authorities have launched an investigation into the crash.
