The 37-year-old son of presidential chief of staff Sergei Ivanov drowned while vacationing in the United Arab Emirates.
Vnesheconombank, for which the son Alexander Ivanov served as deputy chairman, announced his death in a statement on its website Wednesday.
"The bank has suffered a great loss. We have lost a true professional — an uncontested authority in his sphere. We will always remember Alexander Sergeyevich as an amazingly cheerful and modest person, possessing bright and deep personal qualities. We have lost a real friend and companion," the statement said. It was signed by "the leadership of Vnesheconombank, friends and colleagues."
RBC Daily cited unidentified sources as saying Ivanov had been swept up by high waves while swimming with his young daughter on Monday. Rescuers were able to save his daughter but not Ivanov, the report said.
Ivanov made headlines in May 2005 after crashing into 68-year-old pensioner Svetlana Beridze while driving in Moscow. Beridze died from her injuries.
A criminal case was initially opened over the incident, but Moscow police said in November of the same year that they'd closed the case after ruling that Ivanov could not have avoided hitting the pedestrian, RIA Novosti reported at the time.
Amid speculation that police had been pressured to drop the charges due to the Ivanov family's connections to the Kremlin, then-Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov assured that this was not the case and that no pressure had been placed on investigators.
Relatives of the victim insisted that the police investigation was corrupt, however, saying crucial witnesses had disappeared and mysteriously become unavailable to testify, apparently threatened or paid off, news site Newsru.com reported in November 2005.
After the case, the younger Ivanov mostly kept a low profile.
He graduated with a degree in global economics from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. He was appointed deputy chairman of Vnesheconombank in 2012. Before that, he headed the corporate development department at bank VTB.
Last year the Foreign Ministry honored Ivanov for his contribution to international cooperation.
Ivanov was responsible for one of the most important spheres of Vnesheconombank's work: cooperation with international financial institutions, national and regional development institutions providing financing for the implementation of foreign economic projects and programs, and ensuring financial support for the export of products made by Russian organizations, the TASS news agency reported Wednesday.
Contact the author at a.quinn@imedia.ru
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