Pevchikh said the deal included Vadim Krasikov, an FSB agent jailed in Germany for murdering a former Chechen commander in 2019, and “two American citizens.”

Pevchikh added she had received confirmation late on Feb. 15 that such a swap was going to take place but believed Putin then changed his mind.

“Since they are willing to exchange Krasikov on principle then I just need to get rid of the bargaining chip [Navalny,],” Pevchikh surmised Putin’s thinking. “Then offer someone else when the time comes.”

“It’s absolutely illogical, irrational, it’s the behavior of a mad mafioso. But the point is that Putin has gone mad with hatred for Navalny,” she said.

The Kremlin did not immediately comment on the Navalny team’s allegations.

On Feb. 16, a day after Pevchikh claims to have received confirmation the deal was “in its final stages,” Navalny was reported to have collapsed and died after a walk in the penal colony where he was being held north of the Arctic circle.