Chechen businessperson and former Russian senator Umar Dzhabrailov has shot himself in Moscow. The authorities have ruled out foul play and are investigating his death as a suicide. In December 2025, Dzhabrailov’s name surfaced in the Epstein files.
Sources close to law enforcement said Dzhabrailov was found in his apartment in the Vesper Tverskaya residential complex on 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya Street. Telegram channels with links to the security services reported that he sustained a gunshot wound to the head and was taken to hospital in a critical condition, but doctors were unable to save him.
The Telegram channel Mash claimed that the 67-year-old Dzhabrailov was admitted to intensive care as an unidentified person; his identity was later confirmed by his bodyguards.
‘He was brought to hospital only after two and a half hours. By that time Dzhabrailov had lost a great deal of blood and was unconscious’, the Telegram channel Baza reported.
Mash added that Dzhabrailov was diagnosed with cerebral oedema. Doctors unsuccessfully attempted to resuscitate him for about half an hour.
RBChas cited a police source as saying a pistol was found at the scene. The state news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti, citing their sources, reported that no signs of a violent crime had been established. Interfax likewise described the incident as suicide. The Investigative Committee has not issued an official comment on Dzhabrailov’s death.
Months before his death, Dzhabrailov’s name surfaced in the Epstein files, documents and email exchanges linked to the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was convicted of human trafficking and organising prostitution.
Photographs of the businessman were found in the files. Dzhabrailov confirmed that he had known Epstein but denied any close friendship, saying the photograph in question had been taken in 1990 during a karate training session.
In addition, Dzhabrailov appears to have corresponded with Ghislaine Maxwell, a sex offender and close associate of Epstein, with emails sent to Maxwell by Dzhabrailov in 2001 reading:
‘Dear Ghislaine,l’m back from London,planing 2 Bin Moscow.Really want 2 C U,but I need 2 know exactly when U arive,cause I want 2 take care of U and arrange welcoming things.Wishing U all the best! Umar [sic]’.
Maxwell responded a day later, saying that she and Epstein were arriving in Moscow a week later.
‘Will you be around and can we get together?’ Maxwell asked.
A troubled life
The day before his death, Dzhabrailov published a video message on his Telegram channel expressing concern about the Iran conflict and the fate of Russian tourists stranded in the Middle East.
‘I wish that this tragedy passes everyone by, that none of our people are affected, and that you return home as soon as possible. I wish everyone goodness, love, and happiness’, he said.
In recent years, he had led a relatively private life and rarely appeared in public. A Mash source said that on the same day he had exchanged messages with a female friend, initiating the conversation himself and complaining that he was in very low spirits. This winter, according to the source, he had frequently spoken about numerous problems and about loneliness.
The business person reportedly faced difficulties both in his personal life and in his affairs. He had also been suffering frequent bouts of colds and flu, and his overall condition was said to be poor. At the same time, Dzhabrailov tried to take care of himself and regularly underwent medical examinations.
In conversation with his friend, the former senator mentioned his daughters and complained that they rarely visited him. Dzhabrailov also told his friend that he felt lonely.
In recent months Dzhabrailov may also have encountered financial difficulties. The Russian independent media outlet Agentstvo (Agency) reported that his accounts in several banks had been frozen due to tax arrears. The restrictions were reportedly imposed because he had failed to submit a tax declaration and had outstanding mandatory payments.
The first freezes reportedly occurred in the summer of 2025 after he failed to file a tax return, and a final block was imposed on the day before, according to the Telegram channel SHOT. Baza said the most recent restriction was linked to a debt of ₽40,000 ($500).
Dzhabrailov was born in 1958 in Grozny. He graduated from MGIMO. In the 1990s he became a prominent figure in Moscow’s business community, working on property development and hotel projects and serving in senior roles in major commercial structures. In 2000, he ran in Russia’s presidential election as a candidate from an initiative group, finishing last.
From 2004 to 2009 Dzhabrailov represented Chechnya in the Federation Council, the upper house of parliament. After leaving the council, he worked as an adviser and aide to the Russian president.
According to the Russian independent media outlet Proekt (Project), he stepped down after an order from Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov to ‘immediately relinquish his powers’. His vacant mandate was transferred to Suleiman Geremeev, who had been questioned as a possible organiser of the murder of one of Kadyrov’s principal opponents, former MP Ruslan Yamadaev, who was shot near the Moscow White House. The senatorial mandate granted Geremeev immunity.
In 2017, Dzhabrailov’s name returned to the headlines after he fired several shots from a pistol while under the influence of drugs in a room at the Four Seasons hotel in Moscow. A court found him guilty of hooliganism and imposed a fine. After the verdict entered into force, he was expelled from the United Russia party.
Since 2015, Dzhabrailov had headed the Avanti Association of entrepreneurs promoting ‘business patriotism’ and was a co-owner of Avanti StroyGroup, which developed a residential complex on the site of the former ZIL factory.
In 2017, Elizaveta Peskova, daughter of President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov, served as an adviser to the president of the Avanti Association.
In a 2023 interview with television presenter Ksenia Sobchak, with whom he once had a relationship, Dzhabrailov spoke about personal crises and his struggles with addiction. He also said he tried to take his own life in 2020. In recent years he was said to have suffered from depression and health problems.
Following news of his death, Sobchak published a post describing Dzhabrailov as ‘a complicated but talented man’ and expressing condolences to his family.
‘Unfortunately, he had a destructive habit’, one Interfax source said.
In his interview with Sobchak, Dzhabrailov had spoken about a long struggle with drug addiction.
At the height of his business and political career, he was a regular at high-profile international parties attended by celebrities including Diddy, Jay-Z, and Beyoncé — all believed to be his acquaintances. During that period he frequently featured in the society pages, with journalists linking him romantically to Sharon Stone, Ornella Muti, and Naomi Campbell.
According to preliminary information, Dzhabrailov will be buried in Chechnya.
Elizaveta Chukharova
