A murder probe is underway after Russian exile and Putin critic Nikolai Glushkov was found dead at his London home
A Russian exile found ‘murdered’ at his suburban home may have known his killer, new evidence suggests.
Nikolai Glushkov, 68, was found dead by his daughter, Natalia, at his suburban home in New Malden, south London last Monday night – just eight days after the nerve agent attack on spy Sergei Skripal.
On Friday, Scotland Yard announced they are treating the death of the former Putin critic as murder.
Today, detectives revealed they have found no sign of forced entry at the house, suggesting he may have let whoever killed him into his house.
It also emerged Mr Glushkov may have been killed more than 24 hours before he was found, with police appealing for information about anything unusual locals saw on Sunday.
It was claimed over the weekend that Mr Glushkov was strangled then hung up to make his death look like a suicide.
Mr Glushkov was found by his daughter, Russian businesswoman Natalia Glushkova
Police officers stand on duty outside the home of Nikolai Glushkov in New Malden, today
A post-mortem has found Mr Glushkov, a former businessman who had to flee Moscow amid claims of financial crimes, died from ‘compression to the neck’.
Commander Clarke Jarrett, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command said today: ‘The investigation is progressing; we have taken a number of statements and have over 400 exhibits which are being processed.
‘We have found no sign of forced entry thus far, but the forensic examination at Mr Gluskov’s home continues and we expect to be there for some time.’
He added: ‘I must stress that there is nothing we have found in our investigation so far to suggest any link to the attempted murders in Salisbury and I would like to reassure the public in New Malden that there are no wider public health concerns in relation to this investigation.’
Mr Glushkov was one of the last surviving members of an ill-fated circle of Russian exiles – led by Putin’s enemy Boris Berezovsky – who have died in suspicious circumstances.
Mr Glushkov’s friend Boris Berezovsky was found dead in his Berkshire home in 2013 and the death of another of their circle, Badri Patarkatsishvili, is also unexplained