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The troubled multi-millionaire co-founder of online fashion giant Asos has died after mysteriously plummeting from an 18-story building in Thailand.
Quentin Griffiths, 58, was found dead at the foot of the luxury hotel where he had been living in the seaside resort city of Pattaya on Feb. 9, the BBC reported.
Griffiths, a British citizen, had been alone in his 17th-floor suite and had left the door locked from the inside, a police investigator told the outlet.
Quentin Griffiths, the multi-millionaire co-founder of online fashion giant Asos, died after plummeting from an 18-story building in Thailand. Akira Suemori/ShutterstockThere were no signs of a break-in or foul play, the official said. A full autopsy could take months, according to the Sun.
“It’s a real mystery,” a source close to his family told the paper.
“The phrase ‘suspicious circumstances’ has been used but we just don’t know yet,” the insider said.
Police told the BBC Griffiths was involved in ongoing legal disputes that could have caused him stress.
He was separated from his second wife, a Thai national, who accused him of stealing more than $673,000 from the company they ran together, the Sun reported.
He was arrested last year and questioned by police after she alleged he forged documents to sell land shares from the firm without her knowledge.
Griffiths’ death and fall from his 17th floor suite is “a real mystery,” a source close to his family said. Google MapsHe was released but the investigation was still ongoing at the time of his death, according to the Sun.
He co-founded Asos in London in 2000 with Nick Robertson, Andrew Regan and Deborah Thorpe. He left the company five years later, but remained a significant shareholder in the fashion and cosmetic retailer.
The business initially launched with the name As Seen on Screen, before switching to the Asos acronym in 2002.
It quickly skyrocketed and at one time was valued more than $8 billion, with Kate Middleton and Michelle Obama both wearing its own-label designs.
English (US)