New details on the disappearance of Anatol Kotau. The yacht with him changed course to Abkhazia, where FSB officers took him off. But was it an abduction or a staged disappearance?

Anatol Kotau. Photo: Mira Lesialishskaya / Belsat

Anatol Kotau is a representative of the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation. He graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). He worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, the Presidential Administration, the Embassy in Poland, the National Olympic Committee, the Directorate of the European Games — 2019, and the Management of Affairs of Lukashenka.

In August 2020, in protest, he resigned from the position of deputy head of the financing department of state bodies within the main financial department of the Management of Affairs of Lukashenka. In recent years, he has been in forced emigration, engaged in public activities, and was associated with several political and media projects, including the Telegram channel "Nick and Mike." In 2024, a Belarusian court заочно (in absentia) sentenced him to 12 years in a penal colony.

Anatol Kotau disappeared in August 2025. It is known that he took leave from his job at the event agency Terra Group and on August 21, he went to Istanbul. According to the Turkish Prosecutor's Office, Kotau's passport was scanned at 18:35:54 upon exiting Turkey on August 21 via Trabzon port.

For almost a year, journalists from the BIC, Deutsche Welle, and OCCRP, together with the "Workers' Movement" and "Cyber Partisans" initiatives, tried to find out what happened to the former official after his trip to Turkey. As a result, they concluded that his disappearance was the result of a pre-planned operation involving several people, and Kotau himself was likely handed over to Russian FSB officers.

A few weeks before his disappearance, Kotau began telling acquaintances about some important meeting in Turkey. According to friends and relatives, he looked interested and even inspired by this prospect. He told some that events might soon occur, after which many Belarusians would have the opportunity to return home. The meeting was postponed several times. The last time he informed his wife about another date change was on August 11, 2025 — ten days before his departure.

The investigation shows that preparations for this trip began in advance. For it, the organizers rented the yacht Shells — a 30-meter motor vessel with four cabins. However, the crew was selected in a very unusual way. The captain and sailors were Turkish, the stewardess was a citizen of the Netherlands, and the main condition for hiring was that they should not speak Russian. This seemed strange, as all passengers on the yacht were Russian-speaking.

HR operative, security officer, and karateka

The customers of the trip were represented by two Russians. The first is 50-year-old Russian Yuri Golovanov, an employee of the St. Petersburg company "Baltiyskaya Zvezda," which specializes in organizing VIP events and renting expensive transport.

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Yuri Golovanov. Photo: investigatebel.org

Journalists point out his contacts with a person linked to PMC Wagner, as well as his possible involvement in an attempted coup d'état in Kyrgyzstan in 2023. At the time of the operation, he worked for a company that organizes transport and security support for events involving high-ranking officials. The authors of the investigation did not find direct evidence of his service in special structures.

The second is 60-year-old Pyotr Grib. As journalists found out, he previously commanded a military unit of the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, collaborated with various security structures, and was associated with veterans' organizations of Russian special services.

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Pyotr Grib. Photo: investigatebel.org

Golovanov and Grib arrived in Istanbul almost a week before the trip, which was scheduled for August 11. However, shortly before departure, during a trial run at sea, a technical malfunction was discovered on the yacht, so the trip had to be postponed for ten days.

The third in the company was 40-year-old Belarusian Yuri Puzikau — a coach and judge in Kyokushinkai karate. The investigation showed that he might have known Anatol Kotau long before the events on the yacht. Puzikau worked in the sports association "Adradzhenne" (Revival), which at various times was headed by former employees of the KGB and the Operational-Analytical Center.

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Yuri Puzikau. Photo: investigatebel.org

These same people were connected with the company "BTS Global," which, with the support of the State Military-Industrial Committee, is engaged in the production and sale of drones. The authors of the investigation name former KGB officer Yuri Serykh as the key figure in this network. He headed "Adradzhenne" and today remains the owner of "BTS Global."

Kotau personally knew Serykh. They might have met at the National Olympic Committee, where both worked at the same time. Serykh was even supposed to be a guest at Kotau's wedding, and their joint photos have been preserved on social media.

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In the photo: Yuri Serykh and Anatol Kotau in red hats. Photo: "Adradzhenne" group on vk.com social network

Journalists also found that there was a close intertwining of employees between "Adradzhenne," "BTS Global," and the related company Tres International. Yuri Puzikau, his wife, and other people from Serykh's circle worked in these structures at various times.

In the social networks of "Adradzhenne," journalists found photographs of Kotau: in one of them, he poses together with Puzikau's wife, who later became an employee of this association. Puzikau himself also appeared in photographs published by "Adradzhenne." However, journalists did not find joint photos of the two men, so they cannot confirm the fact of their acquaintance.

A woman was also involved

The fourth participant was a 49-year-old Jordanian citizen and native of Azerbaijan, Kahira Eynalova. Her role is especially important because she personally knew Kotau long before these events. Eynalova told journalists that she had a romantic relationship with Kotau. Investigators obtained their correspondence and a joint photograph from as early as 2023.

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Kahira Eynalova. Photo: investigatebel.org

According to Eynalova, Kotau borrowed five thousand euros from her. Journalists could not confirm this debt but found that shortly before his trip to Turkey, the man was indeed looking for a way to get money from the United Arab Emirates.

Approximately a week before his departure, he asked an acquaintance businessman for the details of an Emirati bank card, to which someone was supposed to deposit cash in Dubai. Who exactly transferred the money is unknown, but the authors of the investigation do not rule out that it could have been Eynalova.

On the eve of the trip, Kotau also told friends that all expenses for the important meeting in Turkey would be covered by the host side.

What exactly connected Kotau and Eynalova, journalists could not find out. It is known that they met no later than 2023 after one of Kotau's trips to Dubai. At that time, he told acquaintances a lot about new contacts in the UAE and possible business projects. According to one friend, Kotau even claimed that he was offered to become an advisor to one of the princes. In correspondence, Eynalova informed him that his project had allegedly attracted the interest of Azerbaijani businessman Anar Mammadov.

During the same period, Kotau discussed other business ideas related to the Persian Gulf countries with partners. In April 2025, he again visited Dubai and held several meetings there, some of which he did not even tell his closest friends about. The authors of the investigation do not rule out that it was then that he might have met someone from the people who later found themselves with him on the Shells yacht.

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Anatol Kotau and Kahira Eynalova. Photo: BIC source / investigatebel.org

The Operation

On the morning of August 21, 2025, Kotau left Warsaw for the airport. According to relatives, he looked agitated and nervous. He told his wife he was going for work, and at work, he said it was for personal matters. He took only a small suitcase, his phone, and a laptop with him. By evening, he reached Turkish Trabzon via Istanbul and boarded the yacht Shells with Kahira Eynalova.

At that moment, Golovanov and Grib were already on the yacht. Puzikau was also there, but after Kotau's arrival, he went ashore and did not appear on the vessel again.

Officially, the captain informed port authorities that the yacht was heading to Russian Sochi. However, as journalists found out, the real route was different. The vessel was heading to Sukhum — the capital of self-proclaimed Abkhazia.

A trip to Abkhazia seemed risky for Kotau. At that time, he was already on an interstate wanted list, so he could be detained not only in Russia but also in Abkhazia, where local security forces closely cooperate with Russian ones. Journalists could not find out whether Kotau knew about the actual travel route and whether he consciously agreed to it.

Kahira Eynalova claims that initially, the company was going to Georgia and even planned to visit a casino. However, after relaxing and consuming alcohol, plans allegedly changed. According to her, she was not interested in conversations between the other passengers and did not know what decisions they made. As a result, the yacht headed for Russia.

According to Eynalova's version, Kotau left the yacht with the other passengers, after which she never saw him again and heard nothing about his fate.

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Map: Yana Mickevich / Belarusian Investigative Center

However, other sources describe the events of the morning of August 22 differently. According to them, the yacht first approached the coast near Sukhum, but then the Russians ordered a change of route and to head to Ochamchira port. This city is also in Abkhazia, but south of Sukhum. The basing point of the FSB Border Service of Russia is located there.

While Kotau slept in his cabin, the captain contacted the port to get permission to moor. In response, he was told to wait at sea and not approach fishermen until a transfer boat arrived. However, instead, a Russian coast guard ship approached the yacht. As noted in the investigation, satellite images show that around this time (12:30 Georgian time), a patrol vessel left the Russian base and, a few minutes later, headed towards the Shells yacht.

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Source: Planet Labs

According to journalists, the coast guard was called by the Russian passengers of the yacht themselves. They claimed that during the night, Anatol Kotau allegedly got drunk, attacked them, and beat them.

According to sources, Russian FSB border guards boarded the vessel, broke into Kotau's cabin, took him out, ordered the captain to remove the Belarusian from the passenger list, and transferred him to their ship. After that, the FSB vessel departed into the sea.

The remaining passengers stayed on the yacht. The Russians ordered the captain to go to Sukhum, where they themselves went ashore, and then headed to Russia. Eynalova then returned to Trabzon. The yacht crew was dismissed after the completion of the voyage.

Journalists note that they do not know whether Kotau realized where the yacht was heading in the last hours of its journey. According to Eynalova's version, after a feast with the Russian passengers, he fell asleep. Other sources claim that he was unwell and vomiting.

At the same time, all acquaintances of Kotau interviewed by journalists claimed that he was not prone to physical aggression, neither sober nor after consuming alcohol. None of them could recall instances where he behaved in such a manner.

The authors of the investigation emphasize that all described circumstances were verified through several independent sources, and documents and recordings of conversations with informants are at the disposal of the editorial office.

What about the yacht?

At the time of the operation, the yacht Shells, which delivered Kotau to the Abkhazian coast, belonged to the British company MGA Yachting LTD. Until 2022, the ultimate owner of the yacht was Turkish businessman Toygar Yedigöz, associated with the company Fix Defence. It manufactures bulletproof vests and drones for the military sector — just like the Belarusian "BTS Global," which the investigation already linked through a circle of former KGB and Operational-Analytical Center employees.

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Yacht Shells. Photo: Superyacht times

Investigators discovered other connections between the yacht and this company. One of the captains of Shells named Fix Defence as his workplace. Additionally, husband and wife Heydarovs were connected to both structures: Emin Heydarov (Azerbaijani, like Kahira Eynalova) was part of the management of Fix Defence, and his wife Sabina became the owner of MGA Yachting in 2022, the company under which the yacht was registered during the operation. According to the authors, Heydarov repeatedly flew to Belarus.

Six months after Kotau's disappearance, the vessel was sold to a company from the Marshall Islands, which does not disclose its true owners. After the sale, the yacht received a new name — YS Legacy.

Journalists noted that in March 2026, the Belarusian company "BTS Global" applied for registration of a trademark with the same name. They also noted that the letters YS match the initials of the owner of "BTS Global," Yuri Serykh. In addition, they found another coincidence: the new owners of the yacht were registered in the Marshall Islands at the same address as a company that previously transferred one of its assets to Yuri Serykh.

According to the authors, they requested comments from the participants of this story and other individuals mentioned in the investigation. Kahira Eynalova stated that she did not understand the questions and threatened legal consequences in case of further inquiries. Yuri Golovanov read the journalist's message on Telegram but did not respond. Other individuals involved in the investigation also did not respond to requests at the time of publication.

Separately, investigators draw attention to the reaction of Polish authorities to Kotau's disappearance. In September 2025, the Polish prosecutor's office refused to initiate a criminal case regarding his deprivation of liberty. According to journalists, for ten months after the disappearance, the police and special services did not conduct active investigative actions: they did not interrogate Kotau's relatives and acquaintances, nor did they examine his belongings and electronic devices. In response to journalists' inquiries, the National Prosecutor's Office of Poland stated that it was not investigating his disappearance.

As of the publication of the investigation, June 18, 2026, Anatol Kotau's fate remains unknown.

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