A FORMER KGB spy chief suspected of helping Brit spook Christopher Steele compile the Donald Trump ‘dirty dossier’ has been found dead in mysterious circumstances.
The Sun reports that Oleg Erovinkin, described as a key source behind the widely discredited document, was found dead in the back of his car in Moscow on Boxing Day.
Media reports in Russia suggest his death was the result of foul play, reports the Telegraph.
A former general in the intelligence agency the KBG and its successor the FSB, Erovinkin was reportedly a key aide to former deputy prime minister Igor Sechin.
Erovinkin acted as a ‘go-between’ for Russian Presdident Vladimir Putin and Mr Sechin who is now head of the state-owned oil company Rosneft, it has been reported.
Mr Sechin was named several times in the dossier which contained lurid and unverified allegations against US President Donald Trump.
Former MI6 spy Steele reportedly claimed that he had a source close to Mr Sechin in an intelligence report from July last year.
Erovinkin’s death has prompted speculation that it was linked to the sensational document, reports the Telegraph.
Russian news agency RIA Novosti news agency reports his body was “found in a black Lexus … a large-scale investigation has been commenced in the area.
“Erovinkin’s body was sent to the FSB morgue”.
While no cause of death has been confirmed, some reports have claimed he died as a result of a heart attack.
Christo Grozev, an expert in Russian espionage, writes in his blog that he believes Erovinkin was the key source in Steele’s dossier.
He also claims he has “no doubt” that Mr Putin would have had the document on his desk at the time of Erovinkin’s death.
Steele, 52, is still in hiding after being revealed as the author of the explosive dossier which was published in full by Buzzfeed earlier this month.
The former spook was reportedly hired by a US political research firm to investigate Mr Trump on behalf of ‘unidentified Republicans’ who wanted to derail his White House bid.
He then allegedly wrote a 35-page report consisting of memos compiled before and after the November 8 election — which was later partly funded by Democrats as well as the anti-Trump Republicans.
A furious Mr Trump let rip at his first press conference since his shock election victory, slamming the dossier as “fake”.
Father-of-four Steele reportedly fled his £1.4 million ($2.3 million) Surrey mansion “fearing for his life” after giving his pet cat to his neighbour.
