A deal to free Navalny was in the works, and allies say his death was no coincidence

If the Kremlin did kill Alexei Navalny, why now?

The Russian opposition leader’s allies have offered their answer to the question that has hung over his death, alleging that President Vladimir Putin had the jailed dissident killed to thwart an imminent prisoner swap that would have freed him — and two Americans.

Five sources told NBC News that a deal to free Navalny was in the works, although the swap was not thought to be imminent when Navalny's death was announced on Feb. 16. Two of those sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly, said the mooted deal would have included reporter Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan.

Two U.S. officials said that Washington had not directly discussed the idea with Moscow. One said that Putin may have found out it was under discussion among U.S. and German officials.

The news added to mounting intrigue as the Kremlin critic’s funeral emerged as a new flashpoint, with Navalny's team saying Tuesday that it had been unable to find a venue in Russia willing to hold the event.

Talks with Germany

In a video message published Monday, a close Navalny ally alleged that Putin had Navalny killed in prison because he was close to being released with two unnamed U.S. citizens in exchange for Vadim Krasikov, a Russian hitman jailed for life in Germany for the brazen murder of a former Chechen militant.

“Alexei Navalny could have right now, today, been in this seat,” Maria Pevchikh said of the alleged swap in the video. “This is not a figure of speech. This could and should have happened.”

She said she had been told the night before Navalny died that discussions to release him were in the final stages. But Putin ultimately decided he did not want to go ahead with the deal out of