A MOST wanted fraudster – dubbed the ‘real life Wolf of Wall Street’ – is believed to have died while on the run in Mexico.
Anthony Constantinou, 42, fled the country while on trial for a £70million investment scam last year.
8
8
8
He was jailed in his absence for 14 years and banned from being a director of a company for 25 years.
Now a death certificate has emerged showing he died of a heart attack in Guadalajara in July – a year after going on the run.
The documents seen by The Sun show he was living in the crime-ridden city in the Jalisco province and his occupation was given as “international businessman”.
The person who informed authorities of his death was a Madelina Elena Apostol, named in the documents as his “concubine”.
A woman by that name living in the Jalisco province has a profile on social media as a “digital creator” with 12,000 followers.
The Sun last night approached her for a comment.
The death documents state Constantinou died at 10.30am on July 3 and was cremated the same day.
News of Constantinou’s demise was first passed to investigative bureau Offshore Alert by a source claiming to be close to the British Embassy who was surprised that the information had not been made public.
City of London Police issued an appeal for information on his whereabouts after he absconded during his trial at Southwark Crown Court last year.
He was later arrested crossing the border from Bulgaria to Turkey using a fake Spanish passport but was released.
Cops thought he was in Turkey, or Cyprus where he was known to have family.
It is unknown how he may have travelled to Mexico.
Constantinou was previously convicted of sexual assault in 2016 for molesting two women and was in breach of his sexual offences harm order by absconding.
An international arrest warrant was issued against him.
8
8
8
The Sun last night contacted City of London Police, which said: “Enquiries are ongoing into the death of Anthony Constantinou.
“At this time, we are not able to comment any further.”
The Foreign Office said it was aware of the reports of his death but said it was a police matter.
The Sun has contacted the Mexican civil registration department to try and confirm the details of his death.
The address given on the death certificate appears to be an apartment block on a road in the city centre of dangerous Guadalajara – which has a million strong population.
A journalist specialising in human rights and missing people in the city, Analy Nuno, told The Sun he may have gone there to hide.
She said: “Despite the presence of a considerable number of public buildings in that area of the city, there is also the existence of drugs trafficking, drug dealers, prostitution and more.
“That area is considered a red zone.
What he did in the City was a disgrace to his late father and his family.
“If he was able to take refuge there it is for one of these reasons; to keep a very low profile or keep himself very well protected.”
Constantinou, who was director of numerous businesses based out of Heron Tower in the City, duped a total of 312 investors out of £70million between 2013 and 2015 when he ran Capital World Markets.
The firm had high-profile sponsorship deals with Chelsea Football Club, the Honda Moto GP, Cyclone Boxing Promotions, Wigan Warriors rugby league club, and the London Boat Show.
Constantinou was pictured meeting Princess Anne at the boat show.
Southwark Crown Court heard Constantinou spent £2.5million of investors’ money on his “no expense spared” wedding on the Greek island of Santorini in September 2014.
His son’s first birthday party a few days earlier cost more than £70,000.
Constantinou denied wrongdoing but was found guilty of one count of fraud, two counts of fraudulent trading and four counts of money laundering in his absence.
Detective Inspector Nichola Meghji, from the City of London Police, said at the time: “Anthony Constantinou is a career criminal who has no regard for anyone but himself.
“As a career criminal, he has access to documents and money under other names.
“It is not known what name he is currently travelling on or being known as.”
Constantinou is the youngest son of fashion mogul Aristos Constaninou who was famously gunned in the “silver bullets murder” on New Year’s Day in 1985.
Masked raiders shot him dead at his home in The Bishop’s Avenue in Hampstead, London – dubbed Billionaire’s Row – when Anthony was aged three.
The killers were never found but in 2017 the Met Police reopened the case.
His wife Elena survived and was named as the prime suspect in the case but was never prosecuted and always denied involvement.
She remarried American lifeguard Tim Nugent seven months later.
She later remarried again and was last reported to be living in Cyprus.
A source close to his family last night said: “I have no idea where Anthony is.
“I’ve had nothing to do with him for years. What he did in the City was a disgrace to his late father and his family.
“I have no doubt he had psychological problems probably brought on by his father being killed when he was a young child.”
8
8