Vladimir Putin critic's fatal fall in the US: Mystery continues as case has been closed inconclusively

Dan Rapoport was a well-known Latvian-born U.S. investment banker and outspoken Vladimir Putin critic. In August, his death was reported after falling from his luxury apartment in the US Capital’s west-end neighbourhood.

Successful businessman and outspoken Putin critic

Rapoport made a fortune as a businessman in Moscow and only left the country after falling off with the Russian government.

In 2012 he moved to the US and came close to the capital’s elite. In 2016 a luxury mansion of his family worth $5.5 million was sold to power couple Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.

Rapoport also became an outspoken Vladimir Putin critic and a regular pundit for western media, Politico reports.

Yuri Somov, a close friend of Rapoport was shocked to learn about his death, saying that he had lived in Moscow and Ukraine throughout the 90s which were incredibly perilous times for a businessman, The Washington Post reports.

‘He was a very successful businessman at a very dangerous time in essentially a lawless country, You didn’t have to do anything wrong or questionable to be squeezed, or to disappear, or die.’

Questionable handling of the police investigation

The DC Metro Police were criticised for preliminary comments about Rapoport’s death, hinting at a case of suicide and that they 'did not suspect foul play'. The case remained open until a medical examiner’s report was concluded.

Bill Browder, a former Moscow-based American financier and political ally of Rapoport, regarded his death as highly suspicious.

I think the circumstances of his death are extremely suspicious. He was a well-known critic of Putin in the West and had been an effective critic. He was also an open supporter of [the jailed opposition leader] Alexei Navalny. And he had all these connections in the elite of Washington, D.C. The immediate response of the Washington, D.C. police, I think, is a premature and unhelpful conclusion

Meanwhile, the Police have concluded the case inconclusively. The medical examiner was able to determine the cause of death as ‘trauma from the fall’, yet the manner which led to Rapoport’s death remains ‘undetermined’.

According to a statement by the examiner, ‘undetermined’ is used when ‘there is a lack of information to assign another manner’ leading to a person's death.

Authorities have declined to elaborate or make the autopsy report public, as per the Post.

Sources used:

-Politico: ‘A Putin Critic Fell from a Building in Washington. Was It Really a Suicide?’

-WashingtonPost: ‘D.C. police close probe into death of Putin critic, but questions remain’