At about 6 p.m. on August 21, 2025, the former Belarusian diplomat and sports official Anatol Kotau boarded a private yacht in northeastern Turkey. He said he would be home in a few days.
The yacht was officially bound for Russia — one of two countries with a warrant out for his arrest — but it is unclear whether Kotau knew its intended destination. What is known is that three hours into his journey, he stopped responding to messages.
He never returned home.
Using information from sources, documents, satellite imagery and leaked databases, DW and its partners, the Belarusian Investigative Center(BIC) and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, have determined that Kotau was taken off the yacht by the Russian Coast Guard, a division of the FSB domestic intelligence agency, likely working in cooperation with Belarus. The monthslong investigation found that Kotau may have been lured to his fate by people he knew.
Kotau was wanted in Belarus
