‘Suicide’ is investigated by Skripal detectives
NEW information unearthed during the investigation into the nerve agent poisoning of MI6 double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia has linked the Kremlin to at least two other deaths on British soil, it was claimed last night.
Scotland Yard detectives are said to be probing new evidence linking Russian spies to the murders of billionaire Scot Young and millionaire Alexander Perepilichnyy.
Property developer and telecoms tycoon Mr Young, 52, was found impaled on railings after falling from a rented £2million fourth-floor flat in Marylebone, London, in December 2014. He is said to have had murky business dealings in Russia and was in a bitter divorce battle with his ex-wife Michelle. Detectives concluded he leapt to his death, but fashion buyer Michelle and his two daughters maintain he was murdered and say £400million remains stashed away somewhere. A coroner ruled there was insufficient evidence to prove suicide, but last night Michelle said: “I have always said Scot was murdered and I would like to know who the killers are.” Mr Perepilichnyy, 44, died while jogging in Surrey in November 2012. At the time he was helping expose a £142million Russian money-laundering operation.
A month before, he fought off a legal challenge by a debt recovery firm allegedly led by Dmitry Kovtun, the prime suspect in the Alexander Litvinenko poison case. Now, a Sunday newspaper claims the Yard’s SO15 counter-terrorism command has obtained new information suggesting others may have been targeted by Russian killers and is set to reopen investigations. A source said: “A few of the highprofile, unexplained deaths are very suspicious, including the ones relating to Perepilichnyy and Young.”