According to reports, a Russian tycoon who amassed wealth in oil and gas was found hanged in the garage of his mansion in Surrey.
The 66-year-old Ukrainian-born energy tycoon was found hanged by a gardener at his Wentworth mansion in Virginia Water, Surrey on Monday, according to the sun.
Police treat the death of the father of three, Michael Watford, as “inexplicable”, but is not considered suspicious.
The news of Mr. Watford’s death came in the day Boris Johnson told the Commons that it would publish a complete list of people associated with Vladimir Putinregime of Russia, a significant part of which will face sanctions.
Police were called after the property tycoon, who is not among the already sanctioned oligarchs, was found dead at noon on Monday.
Yesterday, his 41-year-old Estonian wife, Jane, posted a photo on social media showing her kissing her husband on their estate.
This comes after the death in 2012 of the Russian millionaire, businessman Alexander Perepilichny, 44, who lived in the exclusive area of St. George’s Hill in Weybridge.
Michael Watford, 66, (left) was found in the garage of his luxury property at Wentworth’s exclusive mansion in Virginia Water, Surrey, where homes cost up to £ 20 million.
Yesterday, his 41-year-old Estonian wife, Mrs. Watford, (right) posted a photo on social media showing her kissing her husband on their estate.
According to The Sun, a family friend said that Watford’s state of mind could be shaken by the war in Ukraine, which began in Russia last week.
“The moment of his death and the invasion of Ukraine were certainly not accidental,” the source said. Another contributor told The Sun Watford that Watford’s death “raises questions” after other suspicious deaths of Russian citizens.
Surrey police have been accused of “incompetence” in the investigation. He was allegedly poisoned, possibly with a plant toxin known as “heartbreaking weed” – although the investigator concluded in 2018 that he died of natural causes.
Born Mikhail Tolstoy in 1955 in Ukraine, when it was part of the Soviet Union, Mr. Watford made his fortune from oil and gas before building an empire for property in Britain.
He changed his name to Watford when he moved to the United Kingdom, where he grabbed homes in Eaton Square in Belgravia, central London; an estate worth £ 18 million in Virginia Water, Surrey, and a recent series of properties in the Wentworth mansion.
In 2015, he complained about how difficult it is to find a “perfect superyacht” mansion outside London.
Unable to find a house that met his exacting standards, Mr. Watford ordered his own 9,640-square-foot property, boasting that the wrought-iron gates were made by the company that supplied Kensington Palace and the driveway to Kensington. £ 56,000 is modeled on a round stone. squares in front of King’s College, Cambridge. “I want perfection, nothing less,” he said.
“In London – Mayfair, Knightsbridge, Belgravia – you can find the highest quality.
“But outside London, no.” Not even close. It would not be correct to say that houses are cheap. I don’t want to be rude, but they have the wrong style, the wrong finishes, they are not high class. Not for us.
The 66-year-old’s body was found in the garage of his luxury property at the exclusive Wentworth mansion in Virginia Water, Surrey, where the homes cost up to 20 million pounds (pictured)
Mr Watford said his weakness for ‘top quality’ stemmed from building superyachts.
The tycoon, who has been married twice in 2007, made headlines when he sued two women from his Chelsea construction and design firm, High Life Developments, after they claimed he had made improper advances at an office party.
In a Supreme Court lawsuit, he said the two women slandered him.
Yesterday, friends reacted with shock and sadness to his death.
Gasolina Di Pitim wrote a message on Facebook to Ms. Watford, saying: “He had such a beautiful life because he met you. To me, your story is one of the greatest love stories. This is love forever.
A spokesman for the Surrey police said: “We were called around noon on February 28 after reports of the discovery of a male body. An ambulance was called, but the man, who is about 60 years old, was unfortunately pronounced dead on the spot.
“An investigation into the circumstances of the death is under way, but no suspicious circumstances are considered.”