Son of Russian oligarch known as ‘only man Putin trusts’ mysteriously dies at 35 after complaining he was ‘suffocating’

THE sanctioned oil executive son of the “only man Vladimir Putin trusts” has reportedly died after complaining he was "suffocating".

The death of Ivan Sechin, 35, heir to one of the despot's closest cronies Igor Sechin, 63, was mysteriously covered up for two weeks.

It's the latest of dozens of mysterious deaths - many in the energy sector - since the start of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago.

Ivan's father, nicknamed Darth Vader, is the powerful head of oil giant Rosneft and has been a confidante of the Russian leader since the 1990s, often now considered his "right-hand man".

At Rosneft, he has spearheaded sanctions-busting efforts since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

His only son was highly secretive, and used the pseudonym Evgeny Anatolyevich Panin, possibly to hide his wealth or for security reasons.

His death comes amid speculation that the sons and daughters of Putin’s ageing circle are poised to gain new political and business power with major personnel changes after the dictator wins next month’s rigged presidential election.

Virtually all pictures of Ivan Sechin have now been wiped with only one reported to be him.

Believed to be in good health, Ivan died in his mansion in the elite Europe-1 village in Krasnogorsk, close to Moscow - an address previously identified by Bloomberg as “a house for President Putin’s associates”.

A source told Telegram channel VChK-OGPU - which has close law enforcement contacts - that Sechin junior died on February 5 from “a detached blood clot”.

It added: “At approximately 4.30am on the night of February 5, 35-year-old Ivan complained that he felt bad and was suffocating.

“The man fell on the bed and lost consciousness. Those around him carried Ivan to the floor and tried to provide primary resuscitation measures.

“At the same time, Ivan Sechin’s security guard called an ambulance.”

The medical team took one and a half hours to reach the mansion.

“When the ambulance arrived at the scene, the doctors were only able to ascertain Ivan’s death.”

The same cause of death was originally given for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, whose closely-guarded body was reportedly found covered in bruises.

It was later announced the 47-year-old died of "sudden death syndrome" four days ago - although there are widespread claims he was killed on Putin’s orders. 

Nine years ago, Ivan Sechin was awarded the Order for Service to the Fatherland by Putin - a move that Navalny branded a “mockery” that highlighted the nepotism and corruption in the dictator's regime.

Navalny said: "What could a 25-year-old good-for-nothing, working since March 2014 (less than a year) in his daddy's business, possibly offer that is longstanding and worthy?”

Telegram Channel VChK-OGPU claimed that Igor Sechin prevented the Russian Investigative Committee, FSB and other security forces from examining the circumstances of his son’s death.

Instead he deployed the Rosneft Security Service, comprising “former FSB and Investigative Committee employees personally loyal to Sechin”.

Ivan Sechin was buried three days after his death, it was reported.

He worked as an executive on offshore projects for Rosneft and accompanied his father on foreign trips. 

A graduate from Moscow State University, he previously worked as an analyst at Kremlin-cosy Gazprombank.