A Russian oligarch was found dead in the garage of his luxury UK mansion just days after the invasion of Ukraine commenced.
Mikhail Watford was discovered by a gardener on Monday at his prestigious £18m estate in Virginia Water, Surrey, the Mirror reports.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the death of the father of three, who made millions through oil and gas companies in Ukraine before starting up a property business in Britain.
According to the Sun, a family friend, said: “His state of mind might have been affected by the situation in the Ukraine.
“The timing of his death and the invasion of Ukraine was surely not coincidental.”
The oligarch’s name was not on the list of people sanctioned by the government.
However an associate suggested the timing of his death was suspicious.
He added: “His death raises questions. After all the other suspicious deaths of Russian nationals and associates in the UK, it is only natural there will be speculation about his death.”
Sharing a glamorous picture of herself and Mikhail on Facebook, his Estonian wife Jane wrote on Facebook: “He had such a beautiful life because he met you.
“To me your story is one of the greatest love stories. This is love for ever."
Mr Watford changed his name from Tolstosheya when he arrived in Britain in the 2000s.
A spokesman for Surrey Police said: “We were called around midday on February 28 following reports of the discovery of a man’s body.
“An ambulance was called but the man, who was in his 60s, was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
“An investigation into the circumstances of the death is under way but it is not believed there are any suspicious circumstances.”
His death came shortly after Vladimir Putin ’s invasion of Ukraine started.
Roughly 2,000 Ukraine civilians have been killed in the war with Russia so far.
Vladimir Putin's troops have stormed the council building of Kherson amid claims the first major city in Ukraine has fallen to the Russian army.
The mayor of the Ukrainian city of Kherson, Igor Kolykhayev said Russian troops were in the streets and had forced their way into the city council building on Wednesday.
Ukraine's President Vlodymyr Zelensky has declared Russia 'a terrorist state'.
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