German billionaire who disappeared on the Matterhorn in 2018 was 'caught with ... trends now
A German billionaire who vanished amid a solo ski tour on Switzerland's Matterhorn six years ago has allegedly been caught by facial recognition software in Moscow - and is there with a Russian woman thought to be a spy.
German-American retail tycoon Karl-Erivan Haub, then 58, was last seen heading up the mountain alone in a lift one morning in April 2018, but never returned to his hotel.
Authorities launched a six-day search which saw five helicopters and teams of alpine rescuers canvas the area, but his body was never found.
Haub - the former managing director and part owner of German supermarket and retail giant Tengelmann Group - was declared dead by a Cologne court three years later, leaving behind a wife, two children and a company of some 75,000 employees.
But now an investigative journalist with German broadcaster RTL claims Haub has been identified with facial recognition cameras in Moscow, where he is believed to be living with Veronika Ermilova - a Russian woman 20 years his junior suspected of being a spy.
Liv von Boetticher told German magazine Capital she saw the images in 2022.
'To my knowledge, these photos were obtained… by an Israeli-American company that searched the biometric surveillance system in Moscow for images of Karl-Erivan Haub,' she was quoted as saying.
An investigation by RTL and media outlet Stern also links Haub's suspicious disappearance to a Russian billionaire known as the 'Scarface Oligarch' - who happened to sell Prince Harry and Meghan Markle their mansion in Montecito, California, in 2020.
German-American tycoon Karl-Erivan Haub, then 58, was training for a ski mountaineering race when he disappeared in April 2018
The billionaire businessman was seen heading up the mountain in a lift one morning alone - something his trainer said was strange for a man who was typically very safety conscious and well-prepared - and never returned to his hotel
Haub is alleged to have dialled the phone of mysterious Russian woman Veronika Ermilova - suspected of being a Russian agent - 13 times in the three days before he vanished
Sergey Grishin was reported to have died from a long illness in March, although no evidence of his funeral has ever emerged
An investigation by RTL and media outlet Stern also links Haub's suspicious disappearance to a Russian billionaire known as the 'Scarface Oligarch' - who happened to sell Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (pictured) their mansion in Montecito, California, in 2020.
Grishin owned the $14.7 million luxurious Montecito compound bought by Harry and Meghan in 2020
Haub's younger brother Christian swore in a courtroom in May 2021 there was no indication the Alpinist, whose net worth was estimated at £5.2 billion, remained alive.
Christian, who assumed control of the Tengelmann Group, is now subject to an investigation by the Cologne prosecutor's office on suspicion of making false statements under oath, RTL reported.
Boettinger alleged images of Haub in Moscow were obtained by investigators from a firm hired by Christian prior to his testimony.
His lawyer, Mark Binz, told German newspaper Die Zeit: 'Of course there is nothing to the accusation.'
Retail mogul Haub is alleged to have called Ermilova's phone 13 times in the three days before he vanished in 2018, according to the probe by RTL and media outlet Stern.
The calls were substantial - one lasting more than an hour - leading to suspicions he was plotting to fake his death with help from Moscow and Ermilova.
An investigation found that Ermilova, 44, ran an 'inconspicuous' event agency in St. Petersburg, which organised skiing, hiking and climbing excursions for outdoor
