01/06/2009

Police Appeal To British Tycoon Fugitive

British police investigating the death of Polish millionaire Kinga Legg, whose body was found in a Paris hotel room, have appealed to a 39-year-old businessman to contact police.

An international manhunt is under way, for Ian Griffin, from Oxshott, who allegedly fled Paris last week, after the battered body of Ms Legg – the entrepreneur's girlfriend - was found in the couple's £1,000-per-night hotel suite at Hotel Le Bristol.

French police said she had died from "internal bleeding caused by multiple blows".

According to detectives leading the hunt, there have been a number unconfirmed sightings of Mr Griffin, in locations across Britain.

A Cheshire Police spokeswoman said: "If Ian Griffin is in the north-west, we would urge him to make contact with police, either in Cheshire or elsewhere in the region."

A Porsche 911 - in which Mr Griffin is thought to have driven back to the UK in - was also found at a property in Warrington, Cheshire, where he was born and raised.

Cheshire Police urged Mr Griffin to give himself up.

"If Ian Griffin is in the North West, we would urge him to make contact with police, either in Cheshire or elsewhere in the region," a spokesman said.

Three years ago the businessman was declared bankrupt at Warrington County Court.

He had built a string of businesses including tanning salons and gadget shops across north-west England.

Ms Legg made her fortune through the international company Vegex, which she owned. It supplied Tesco and other supermarkets with tomatoes.

(JM/BMcC)

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