Ukrainian-born oligarch Mikhail Watford found dead in Surrey mansion

3 March 2022, 00:19 | Updated: 3 March 2022, 10:33

A Ukranian-born oligarch who who made his fortune in oil and gas, has been found dead in his mansion in Surrey.

The body of Mikhail Watford, 66, was found by a gardener on the Wentworth Estate in Virginia Water, Surrey, on Monday.

According to The Sun, police are treating the father-of-three’s death as 'unexplained', but not suspicious.

He lived in an £18million mansion on one of the most sought after estates in Britain with his Estonian wife Jane, their two children and an older son from his first marriage.

A family friend reportedly told the newspaper: "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."

Mr Watford’s wife shared a picture of her kissing him, while holding a cigar, on Facebook after his death with friend Gazolina Di Pitim writing to Mrs 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 for ever."

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A Surrey Police spokesman 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 any suspicious circumstances."