Businessman and former KGB spy Shabtai Kalmanovich was shot dead in central Moscow on Monday, investigators said.
Shots were fired at Kalmanovich’s Mercedes from a passing Lada Priora near 10 Novodevichy Proyezd at about 5 p.m., the Investigative Committee said in a statement.
Kalmanovich, 60, was shot more than 20 times and died at the scene, while his driver, Pyotr Tumanov, sustained grave injuries and was rushed to the hospital, it said.
Lithuanian-born Kalmanovich immigrated to Israel in 1971 and worked for the Labor Party. He was jailed in 1988 on charges of spying for the KGB in exchange for being granted permission to immigrate to Israel.
Kalmanovich was pardoned for medical reasons in 1993 and moved to Russia, where he was the general director of the Tishinka joint-stock company and owner of the Moscow region Spartak women’s basketball team at the time of his death, Interfax reported.
He also was known for organizing concerts for celebrities like Michael Jackson and Tom Jones.
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