A £10 million Surrey mega mansion owned by the widow of a Russian billionaire who mysteriously died after falling out with Vladimir Putin has burned to the ground.
The huge state-of-the art dream home was completely destroyed just a day after the completion of a three-year multi million pound refurbishment.
Owner Inna Gudavadze is the widow of Badri Patarkatsishvili, a one-time ally of the Russian dictator who became one of his fiercest critics - and who many suspect was assassinated.
Devastated Gudavadze, 67, had hoped to move into the stunning country pile imminently - until a huge blaze tore through it two weeks ago.
Now all that remains of the super mansion are charred walls and foundations reduced to rubble after the gigantic fire that lit up one of the UK's wealthiest neighbourhoods.
Eight fire crews were drafted in to try to bring the inferno under control on September 23 - but they couldn't put it out in time and now investigators are trying to piece together exactly what happened.
The three-floor, nine bedroom property – which had taken nearly three years to construct – was destroyed within a few hours and was left a crumbling ruin.
Georgian-born Ms Gudavadze – worth an estimated £650 million – is understood to have seen the mansion in Leatherhead, Surrey, which boasted spectacular views over the North Downs, as her 'dream home'.
She was preparing to make the move from her base in London with daughters, Liana Zhmotova, 43, and Iya Arkadyevna Patarkatsishvili, 40.
The house, which had been fitted out with a cinema, a family room and a lift down to a £1million basement, part of which had been turned into a wine tasting and dining area, was built on the sprawling estate she inherited from her late husband, Patarkatsishvili.
Billionaire oil baron turned politician Patarkatsishvili fled Russia in 2000 after falling out with Putin and being accused of fraud and of attempting to organise a prison-escape of a fellow oligarch.
He moved into a manor house on the Surrey estate in 2006 and died there two years later after suffering a sudden heart attack at the age of just 52.
His death coming so soon after that of former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko, sparked fears that he too had been poisoned – especially as he had revealed publicly he feared hitmen were coming for him.
However, an inquest later ruled he was suffering from severe heart disease.
Police examined the mansion for evidence of foul play but found no evidence. But this didn't dampen suggestions that the KGB may have been involved.
The new mansion his wife had built is 300-or-so metres from the manor house where he died.
Ms Gudavadze – who at one time was the tenth wealthiest woman in Britain - declined to comment on the fire but project manager Dean Windebank told MailOnline that it is believed to have started from a parapet on top of the roof.
The construction – estimated to have cost at least £5million so far– has now been temporarily halted while an investigation into the exact cause takes place.
Mr Windebank said: 'It's hit everyone very hard, a real punch in the gut after all that work and money spent.
'We were there practically there, the house was almost finished. The super structure was up, we'd just put in the belvedere tower a few weeks before, the lift shaft was in and we were starting to take down the scaffolding.
'All we had to do were some finishing touches on the portico and add some windows and doors in to some of the downstairs rooms and that was it.
'The house looked fantastic, it looked lovely and we were all really proud of the work so to see it all go up in smoke like that is absolutely gutting.
'Inna – like the rest of us – is crushed. This really was a labour of love and I think she was hoping to be moving in in a few months. I think this was going to be her dream house.
'But if there's one positive to take away from this is that nobody was inside at the time and nobody was hurt.'
Mr Windebank said the house had been largely built using a 'timber frame with a nine-inch brick skin'. He added: 'Timber can catch fire and go up rapidly but whether this fire would have been as devastating if there'd been more traditional materials used, it's too early to say.
'The fire investigators are still looking at it, as are the insurers, but one thing is clear the structure that remains is going to have be flattened and we'll have to start over from scratch.
'Only the basement - we hope – can be saved.'
The mansion was built perched on a small hill overlooking Patarkatsishvili's old manor house, which Ms Gudavadze now owns and has turned into a base for her staff and security.
Workers based at the manor house raised the alarm when they spotted smoke billowing from the new mansion a little further up on the estate.
At its height the fire could be seen from some five miles away on Epsom Downs.
Neighbour Roland Davis, brother of Dragons' Den presenter Evan Davis, said: 'We were out when the fire took hold initially and came back to several fire engines parked in the tight country lane.
'You could see large plumes of smoke coming from the house but the flames were only really high for about half-an-hour or so, which I find rather strange considering the amount of damage done to the property.
'The fire must have spread very quickly because it was largely put out after a few hours. The fire crews were flying a drone over the house to help pinpoint the worst affected areas.
'They were here pretty much through the night dampening down. Inna showed us the damage to the house a few days later and it's very severe.'
The fire is the latest mishap to befall those exiled from Russia to London's commuter belt after falling out with Putin.
Boris Berezovsky, a business partner and friend of Patarkatsishvili, was found hanged in his bathroom at his home, Titness Park, in Sunninghill, Ascot, Berkshire in 2013.
And just last March 66-year-old oligarch Mikhail Watford, formally Mikhail Tolstosheya, was discovered dead in the garage of his home in nearby Virginia Water, Surrey.
The cause of the blaze is so far unknown but Surrey Police say there appears to be no suspicious circumstances at this stage and the matter has been passed over to Surrey Fire and Rescue Service.
A spokesman for SFRS said: 'We received a call on Saturday 23rd September around 18.00pm to a report of a fire on Downs Lane, Leatherhead.
'Eight fire engines were sent within the first hour, alongside an aerial appliance, with the first arriving at the scene around 18.10pm.
'A fire had broken out in a residential building under construction. The fire was tackled and crews began leaving the scene around 23.40pm, although some crews and appliances remained behind to monitor hot spots.'
Source: Dailymail
