ANOTHER ENEMY OF PUTIN IS FOUND DEAD IN UK
COUNTER-terrorism officers were last night investigating the mystery death of Russian exile Nikolai Glushkov after his body was found at his London home.
His body was removed from his terraced home under the cover of darkness at 8.15pm last night, with the road closed to traffic.
A private ambulance reversed up to a tent outside the property in south west London as police vans shielded the view from the public.
Mr Glushkov, 69, was discovered by his family late on Monday night.
Police have described his death as “unexplained” and have not yet linked it to the nerve agent poisoning in Salisbury over a week ago of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and daughter Yulia, 33.
But Russian newspaper Kommersant has claimed Mr Glushkov was found by his daughter with “strangulation” marks on his neck.
Last year he was jailed in his absence in Russia in the wake of allegations he embezzled £87million when he headed Russian airline Aeroflot. He was previously jailed for four years in 2000 following claims of financial impropriety.
Scarf
Glushkov was a close friend of Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, who was forced to leave Moscow after falling out with Vladimir Putin.
Mr Berezovsky had fled to London and the pair were reunited when Mr Glushkov also moved to Britain five years later. Mr Glushkov was involved in a court case between Mr Berezovsky and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich in 2011.
Mr Berezovsky was found dead on the bathroom floor of his southern England property in 2013 with a scarf around his neck. At an inquest, the coroner said it was difficult to establish whether he had been killed or committed suicide.
Mr Glushkov said at the time that he believed Mr Berezovsky had been killed. He said: “A scarf was there.
“There were traces of him being strangled around the neck. Too many deaths [of Russian emigres] have been happening.”
Mr Berezovsky’s death is one of 14 now being re-examined following the Salisbury poisoning.
Neighbours in New Malden said Mr Glushkov had not been seen since the attack on Mr Skripal.
His next door neighbour said the Russian exile, who lived alone, was a “nice man” who used to give his children gifts at Christmas.
The neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: “He used to say hello in the street and he came to give our children gifts at Christmas, he was a nice man. I think he lived on his own. He lived there for about two years but we only saw him occasionally, when he was putting the rubbish out, things like that.
“I didn’t notice anything last night, we didn’t hear anything, but there are police tents in the garden.
“Police said they are still searching. There are lots of police cars.”
A woman who lives nearby said: “There were five or six police cars this morning about six o’clock, right across the street from us. I didn’t really know the man. We used to see him out with his dog but that’s it.
“I’m really shocked that this has happened in our street.”
A resident on the same road added: “I saw two police tents on the drive when I walked the dog this morning. I don’t know anything about the people who lived there – it’s suburban London, most people don’t know their neighbours.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “An investigation is underway after the death of a man in his 60s in the Kingston borough. Police were called by the ambulance service at 10.46pm on Monday to reports of man found dead at an address in New Malden. Officers attended and next of kin have been informed.
“The death is currently being treated as an unexplained.
“At this stage the Met Police Counter Terrorism Command is leading the investigation as a precaution because of associations the man is believed to have had.
“There is no evidence to suggest a link to the incident in Salisbury.”
Meanwhile, trade between Britain and Russia, which had been on the rise despite sanctions over President Putin’s annexation of the Crimea, could now be harmed by sanctions over the Skripal case. Trade between the countries topped £11.5billion last year, with the British Chambers of Commerce describing Russia as “one of the most promising markets for UK exporters”.
Britain exports its financial expertise and luxury cars and imports Russian oil and gas.
UK exports totalled £5.9billion in the year to the end of last September, a rise of 10 per cent on the previous year, says the Department for International Trade.
Imports, dominated by oil and gas, totalled £5.7billion, up nearly 26 per cent on the previous year. But sanctions imposed over Russia’s
seizure of the Crimea from the Ukraine in 2014 have all but killed off a small sideline in arms exports.
The Campaign Against Arms Trade said that between 2009 and 2014 the UK licensed £89million worth of arms sales to Russia.
Kit sold included sniper rifles, components for combat helicopters, weapon sights, small arms ammunition, body armour and guns.
There were reports in 2015 that British-made sniper rifles had found their way into the hands of Syrian Special Forces.
Russia is a long-time ally of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and its forces have been directly involved in the Syrian civil war since 2015.
Among goods shipped to Russia are luxury cars which are in high demand among wealthy oligarchs.
Last year Jaguar Land Rover sold 10,108 cars in Russia, which was roughly the same level as in 2016.
Markets
Last year Russia’s Trade Envoy Boris Abramov said: “We see a significant rise in both export and import. UK export to Russia is rising in connection with the growth of purchasing capacity in Russia.
“This is with regard to consumer and investment goods, such as, for example, industrial machinery.”
The British Chambers of Commerce website Export Britain also hailed the opportunities for trade with Russia, with this summer’s World Cup providing new openings.
It states: “With over 140 million consumers, a growing middle class, and almost unlimited infrastructure needs, Russia is one of the most promising markets for exporters.”
However, Britain is still a minor trading partner when compared to China, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Japan.
ANOTHER day, another enemy of Vladimir Putin is found dead in suspicious circumstances in his London home. And meanwhile the Russian president smirks on camera as he is asked if his country is behind the Novichok nerve agent attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal.
Just how much longer will this farce continue? Russia and her president are clearly playing for time but given that Novichok is a Russian invention, we can take it that the country knows its own nerve agent. Either this is a government sanctioned attack or sinister forces from within that country are running out of control.
Given Mr Putin’s demeanour it looks very much like the former but, either way, it is about time that the country accepted that it is clearly involved in a brutal and terrible crime that could yet leave hundreds at risk for years. If Russia wishes to emerge from this episode with any credibility at all, it is time they told us what they really know.