June 17 (Reuters) – Prominent Russian businessman Ilya Traber has been detained in connection with an investigation into a suspected contract killing, Russian media reported on Wednesday.
There was no official confirmation of the reports, and a company linked to Traber did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Traber, 75, has been a leading business figure for decades in the northern city of St Petersburg, where he has held extensive investments in ports and logistics.
Local news outlet Fontanka said searches were underway at Traber’s properties and one of his associates was also detained. It said the investigation was linked to the fatal shooting of a businessman and politician, Alexander Petrov, in 2020.
Interfax news agency also reported, citing a law enforcement source, that the arrest was linked to an old murder case. Mash, a news channel with contacts in the police and security services, said the investigation was into a contract killing.
As of 2025, Traber owned 31.7% of Primorsk, a major new deep-water Baltic port, according to Russian corporate records. The port did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Primorsk, which is still under construction, is designed to handle up to 65 million tons of cargo per year including minerals, coal and grain. It will be able to receive deep-water cargo vessels and is intended as one of the starting points for Russia’s Arctic Sea Route, a project championed by President Vladimir Putin.
Traber first came to prominence in the 1990s, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, when he acquired control of St Petersburg’s sea port and oil terminal at a time when Putin was a deputy mayor in the city’s administration.
The Kremlin has previously denied any friendship or business connection between Traber and Putin.
(Reporting by Reuters; writing by Mark Trevelyan in LondonEditing by Gareth Jones)
