A notorious fraudster wanted by the Met Police plunged to his death from a second-storey window in west London, as the mystery surrounding his death remains.
Karl Cronin, 59, was found dead in the early hours of Easter Monday, lying semi-naked on the pavement beneath the window of his home on King’s Road in Chelsea, west London.
Police are investigating whether his death was the result of an accident, suicide, or possible murder linked to his history of international fraud.
Sources who knew Cronin said there had long been rumours that, despite being wanted for two decades, he had remained at liberty because he was assisting British authorities with intelligence on international money laundering, according to The Times.
Cronin had been a “playboy” and flamboyant figure on the Chelsea party scene when police began investigating him in the 2000s.
He was allegedly wanted for his role in a multi-million-pound property scam, according to the Daily Mail.
He was also the subject of a police appeal on the BBC’s Crimewatch programme in 2008, as detectives sought to trace and question him.
Speaking on BBC’s Crimewatch programme, Detective Constable Leon Munday said: “He’s travelled the world living in all the best hotels. He has gambled all over Kensington and Chelsea in casinos. He’s a playboy.”
In 2008, police issued an appeal to trace Cronin, who was wanted for questioning in connection with 15 property fraud offences committed between October 2006 and April 2008 across Kensington and Chelsea, Fulham, Putney and Surrey.
At the time of the alleged offences, he had been living in Cornwall Gardens, South Kensington. Police described him as “having a tanned complexion” and being “well spoken”.
Investigations into the circumstances surrounding Cronin’s death are ongoing.
