Russian Tycoon Found Dead In UK Home Raising Fears He Was On Moscow’s Hit List

A Russian oil tycoon, identified as Mikhail Watford, was found hanging in the garage of his home in Britain, giving rise to fears that the man might have been on Moscow's hit list.

The body of Watford -- a Ukrainian-born oligarch -- was found Monday by a gardener on the Wentworth Estate in Virginia Water, located in the English county of Surrey. The property is one of Britain’s most exclusive estates, AKSAM reported [Google Translate showed].

"We were called around midday on February 28 following reports of the discovery of a man’s body," a Surrey Police spokesman said about Watford's death. "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," the spokesman added, according to LBC news.

The police said they were probing the death with the "utmost seriousness."

“His state of mind might have been affected by the situation in the Ukraine," a family friend said, according to LBC news. “The timing of his death and the invasion of Ukraine was surely not coincidental.”

“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," another associate said.

Moscow has been linked to a number of exile deaths in Britain.

In 2018, police in the U.K. had started contacting a number of Russian exiles to discuss their safety as they investigated the murder of businessman Nikolai Glushkov, BBC reported at the time. The 68-year-old's body was discovered at his south-London home on March 12. An autopsy found he died from "compression to the neck.”

The U.K. in 2010 had granted political asylum to Glushkov, who had fled Moscow after being accused of fraud during his time as deputy director of the Aeroflot airline.

It's been a week since Russia launched an offensive against Ukraine, forcing its troops into the country. Despite tough sanctions being imposed, Moscow has shown no sign of backing down. The unrest has led to thousands of people, including international students, fleeing the war-torn country.

A Russian millionaire CEO announced Monday he was offering $1 million for capturing President Vladimir Putin. He labeled Putin a war criminal under international laws. In a Facebook post, finance and construction mogul Alex Konanykhin said he would pay $1 million to any officer or officers who would successfully arrest Putin following his invasion of Ukraine.

“I promise to pay $1,000,000 to the officer(s) who, complying with their constitutional duty, arrests Putin as a war criminal under Russian and international laws,” he wrote. “As an ethnic Russian and a Russia citizen, I see it as my moral duty to facilitate the denazification of Russia. I will continue my assistance to Ukraine in its heroic efforts to withstand the onslaught of Putin's Orda.”