Irina Izmestieva: Wife of jailed Russian tycoon found dead in west London home
Friends are calling for MI5 to investigate but so far no signs of foul play
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Your support makes all the difference.The former wife of a Russian businessman and ex-senator serving life in prison for allegedly organising a string of contract killings has been found dead in her £10 million London home, in what friends claim are suspicious circumstances.
Irina Izmestieva, 52, separated from Igor, was found by friends on a sofa at her west London property on Friday.
There is no evidence of foul play but Evgeny Chichvarkin, a Russian exile in London and friend of Ms Izmestieva, called for MI5, Britain’s security service, to investigate.
“I very much hope that the UK’s special services will investigate this case properly, thoroughly, and, perhaps, one day we’ll learn what happened,” he said.
According to friends Ms Izmestieva, also known as Irina Ford and who is originally from Ukraine, died “unexpectedly” at home after a few days of feeling unwell.
It’s understood the Met Police did not attend the scene. The London Ambulance Service (LAS) said it was called to reports of an incident at Ms Izmestieva’s Kensington townhouse.
An ambulance crew attended but Ms Izmestieva died at the scene, LAS said.
The mother-of-two, who used to run a TV production company making films, came to Britain around 2007 and regularly attended high society events, including one with Prince Harry in 2012.
Igor was sentenced to life in a high-security prison 13 years ago over a series of contract killings and remains in jail despite promises by Russian President Vladimir Putin that he would be given a pardon.
Ms Izmestieva’s London home was bought for £8,850,000 in 2006 by a company registered in the British Virgin Islands, a year before she moved to Britain.
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