Belgian steel executive found dead in Moscow street

Image source, Tass via Getty Images

Image caption, Bruno Charles De Cooman was found dead in Serafimovich Street, an upscale area of central Moscow

A Belgian executive working for a Russian steel company has been found dead after falling from a nine-storey building, Russian media say.

Dr Bruno Charles De Cooman was Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK)'s vice president for research and development.

Russia's Tass news agency said the executive fell from an apartment building in Moscow's Serafimovich Street, close to the Kremlin.

The circumstances remain unclear, and a police investigation is under way.

Steel giant NLMK confirmed Mr De Cooman's death in a statement, and sent condolences to his loved ones. The company said it "would not comment on the details of the tragedy before clarifying all the circumstances".

NLMK is among Russia's largest steel companies, and is owned by oligarch Vladimir Lisin, one of its richest men.

Mr Lisin recently lost an estimated 4% of his fortune - some $832m (拢638m) in shares - after President Vladimir Putin's top economic adviser proposed tax hikes on mining companies.

Putin aides said the tax revenue would be used to fund a promised increase in social spending.

Mr Lisin has been the plan's most vocal critic.