The 'mistress' at the centre of the story about the German supermarket billionaire who vanished on the Matterhorn runs a company that organises 'James Bond style' tours in Russia -
Reports have suggested Karl-Erivan Haub faked his death six years ago while hiking alone on the iconic Swiss peak, then went incognito to Moscowto be with his secret Russian mistress.
Authorities launched a six-day search which saw five helicopters and teams of alpine rescuers canvas the area following his disappearance in April 2018, but his body was never found.
Aged 58 when he disappeared, he left behind a wife, two children and a company of some 75,000 employees as former managing director and part owner of German supermarket and retail giant Tengelmann Group.
He was declared dead but reports have suggested he is 'living with his mistress' Veronika Ermilova, 44, in Moscow.
In comments carried by Russia's Regnum news agency, Ermilovadeclared the claims over her being Haub's secret mistress 'are from people who grew up on James Bond films and wanted some kind of crazy Russian story'.
'They came up with some kind of spy action movie. They probably grew up watching these films,' she said.
Ironically, her company - named Russian Event - offers super-rich tourists exactly such a 'crazy Russian story' with a James Bond theme.
They offer the opportunity to come to Russia to 'find your inner 007 with your very own James Bond rally – with your own ''Bond Girls'', villains and mission to take on as you navigate the streets of our cities'.
No price is quoted for this tailor-made tour.
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
Ermilova ran an 'inconspicuous' event agency in St Petersburg with hobbies like hiking, climbing and ski touring
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
Veronika Ermilova, 44, is twenty years Haub's junior
An investigation found that Ermilova ran an 'inconspicuous' event agency which organised skiing, hiking and climbing excursions for outdoor enthusiasts. She is now listed on LinkedIn as a Marketing Director at Russian Event, which is styled as a travel experience company
Haub was reported to have made a succession of phone calls to the mysterious Ermilova shortly before he left for his infamous ski tour of the Matterhorn.
German billionaire who disappeared in 2018 was 'caught with ''female Russian spy'' in Moscow and has links to tycoon dubbed 'Scarface' who sold Montecito mansion to Harry and Meghan
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The pair are believed to have held secret meetings at various locations in the years before he vanished.
There were also claims of possible shady business deals, potentially linked to the Russian state.
One of Haub's Russian business partners included notorious self-confessed fraudster Sergey Grishin - known as the 'Scarface Oligarch'.
Grishin made headlines in the UK and US after selling his $14.7 million home in Montecito, California, to none other than Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2020.
Following an investigation by German outlet RTL, the pro-Kremlin media in Russia has said Ermilova admits she knew the German tycoon and that they had a business relationship.
But she says she has heard nothing from him since he went hiking on the Matterhorn.
'No, I'm married, no one ran to me,' she said, according to REN TV.
'I only had a working relationship with him,' she said, according to Zvezda media.
'I don't live with a German billionaire in Moscow - this is fake.'
Russian state media RT quoted Ermilova as saying: 'There is no billionaire in my circle, I am married, I have a child.'
She claimed: 'The company owned by this person [Haub], they were our clients.
'We learned in 2018 that he disappeared in the mountains. And someone in Germany is trying to say that he was found in Moscow…
'This has not been confirmed at all. He was officially declared dead in Germany.'
She also denied that she received 13 calls from Haub before his disappearance.
Haub called Ermilova 13 times before his disappearance, leading to suspicions he was plotting to fake his death with help from Moscow
Veronika Ermilova is pictured at Pacman bar, St Petersburg, back in 2016
Haub was officially declared dead in 2021 with a net wealth of £5.2 billion - even though his body was missing
German-American tycoon Karl-Erivan Haub was training for a ski mountaineering race when he disappeared in April 2018 in Zermatt, Switzerland
Ermilova said that Haub was a client of the St. Petersburg events agency where she worked.
Ermilova later denied she was an FSB agent or a spy, as she insisted she had no more than a working relationship with Karl-Erivan Haub.
'I don't live with a billionaire, it's all some unverified fake,' she said.
'I worked in a company, his company was our client. So we knew each other through business relations. I worked in an events agency in St. Petersburg.
'He came here quite often, they also had a big business here, that is, we provided various services that were ordered from us.
'In 2018, when it happened, we learned that he died in the mountains.
'And now I read that this is some incomprehensible investigation of some channel, which decided that he ran away to me in Moscow,' she said.
'I'm married, nobody ran away to me. I'm not an FSB agent, I'm not a spy.'
