Did Moscow order the death of the oligarchs’ London lawyer?

The death of Stephen Curtis, a Mayfair lawyer trapped in a power struggle between Putin and Russia’s wealthiest tycoon, leaves many unanswered questions. Mark Hollingsworth, author of ‘Londongrad’, follows a dark trail that takes him to MI6 and GCHQ, as he pieces together a story of a high-stakes life straight out of a Le Carre novel...

A dangerous web: little by little, a Sunderland-born lawyer became a key player in a deadly power struggle (AFP/Getty/iStock/PA/Reuters)

It is 6.56pm, Wednesday 3 March 2004. A new white six-seater £1.5m Agusta A109E helicopter lands under an overcast sky at Battersea heliport, London. Waiting impatiently on the tarmac and clutching his two unregistered Vodafone mobile phones is a broad-shouldered 45-year-old lawyer named Stephen Curtis. He is not in the best of moods. Three minutes earlier he called Nigel Brown, his head of security, regarding disputed invoices sent to a Russian client. “Look, I have to go now,” he snaps.

Curtis climbs aboard the helicopter and at 6.59pm, the chopper lifts off into the gloomy London sky. It is misty with broken clouds at 3,800ft but conditions are reasonable for flying, with visibility of seven kilometres.

The lawyer turns off both phones and sits back. After a stressful day of dealing with demanding Russian clients from his £4m penthouse overlooking the Thames, he is looking forward to a relaxing evening at home at Pennsylvania Castle, his 18th-century retreat in Portland, Dorset.