Shabattai Kalmanovich, 60, a colorful figure with a passion for basketball, was gunned down near his apartment in central Moscow by unidentified gunmen who shot at his Mercedes from a passing car, firing at least 20 bullets, Moscow city police said.

His driver was wounded, but tried to pursue the gunmen's car for several blocks, police said.

The killing appeared to have been carefully planned, and investigators are looking for at least two gunmen, Moscow Investigative Committee head Anatoly Bagmet said in televised remarks. He said the slaying might be related to Kalmanovich's business affairs or have been driven by “personal revenge.”

Born in Soviet Lithuania in 1949, Kalmanovich emigrated to Israel in 1971. He reportedly agreed to spy for the KGB in return for permission to leave Lithuania.

In Israel, Kalmanovich eventually became a government adviser on the resettlement of Soviet Jews. He also worked as Israel's representative in Sierra Leone.