Exiled Russian businessman hires bodyguards after spy attack
Formerly a member of parliament in Russia, Sergey Kapchuk says he worries that he will be targeted by Moscow next.
Thursday 15 March 2018 17:24, UK
An exiled Russian businessman has told Sky News that he is so worried about his safety after the poison attack in Salisbury and the mysterious death of another Russian that he has hired two bodyguards for protection.
Sergey Kapchuk fled Russia a decade ago, where he had run a metal factory and been elected as a member of parliament.
The Russian authorities accuse him of "large scale fraud in collusion with abuse of power" and he is Number 12 on an extradition list published by the Russian Embassy in London which accuses the British government of sheltering fugitives from justice.
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The man who was top of the list, Nikolai Glushkov, was found dead at his home in New Malden on Monday night.
Counter-terrorism officers are leading the investigation into his death because of his connections with other prominent Russian dissidents, including Boris BerezovAG百家乐在线官网 who was found hanged at home in 2013.
Sergey Kapchuk told Sky News that he thought that the poison attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia was a "terror attack" that shocked him.
But he assumed they had been targeted because Mr Skripal had previously been a double-agent - whereas Glushkov, like him, was simply a businessman.
He said: "Everybody ask me if I'm worried. Of course I'm worried. It's the only answer. All normal persons should be worried about this.
"Nobody knows who will be next. and it's very scary, that's why the guys are with me."
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As he spoke, one bodyguard stood a few feet away looking out of the window of his London apartment, while another remained at the front door.
Mr Kapchuk added: "If something unexpectedly happened with that man, Glushkov in his home. If he had bodyguards, if he had an attack, they could have helped. I had bodyguards when I was in Russia. It's not a problem for me."
He said he always felt safe in the UK because he was given a British name, and did not involve himself in Russian politics.
Even though there have been a number of unexplained deaths of Russian exiles, he says he trusted the British police and the courts to get to the truth.
When he was asked why someone who fears for their personal safety would do an interview and appear on television, he replied that in Russia you are safer if you are in the public eye.