Ex-wife of British ASOS founder says ‘I didn’t murder him’ after he fell from the balcony of his luxury Thailand apartment
The ex-wife of Asos’ co-founder said she did not kill the man who died after falling from a building in Thailand.
Quentin Griffiths, 58, reportedly fell from an 18-storey complex in the coastal city of Pattaya, south of Bangkok, on February 9.
The tragedy occurred amid an alleged ongoing dispute with his Thai ex-wife, who accused him of fraudulently selling £500,000 worth of land and shares belonging to a company they ran together.
But Ploy Kringsinthanakun, 43, said today he played no role in her death, which occurred just days before their next court appearance.
He told The Sun: ‘I had absolutely nothing to do with his death. How can I kill him? How do I know anything about this? I live in Bangkok; I wasn’t in Pattaya.’
Last January, the British national was reportedly arrested at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport and questioned by detectives after he claimed that Kringsinthanakun had prepared false documents to sell land and company shares without his knowledge.
Griffiths denied the allegations and insisted every business transaction was conducted legally. He was released after questioning, but according to news reports, the investigation was ongoing at the time of his death.
Court documents seen by the newspaper showed he was accused of committing ‘numerous crimes against the law’.
Ploy Kringsinthanakun, 43, today said he played no role in Quentin Griffiths’ death, which occurred just days before his next court appearance.
The online fashion retailer said Quentin Griffiths, 58, ‘played a pivotal role’ in the company’s early days and will be ‘forever grateful for his contribution’
These included ‘reporting the wrong message’ to the police and falsely claiming that the land title had been lost.
Kringsinthanakun told the newspaper that she and her ex-husband had no contact for four years and eight months after she discovered his infidelity.
‘I only learned of his death when his lawyer called both me and my lawyer to arrange a meeting on the case,’ he said.
‘Of course I’m saddened by his death, he’s the father of my children so I’m worried about them and what they’re going through.’
He said he learned of his death from his lawyer and in a state of shock checked the local Pattaya news but found nothing.
The millionaire’s ex-wife has expressed her skepticism over the lack of reporting on the death in Thailand and claimed he prevented her from seeing her children for almost five years.
Emergency services found the millionaire’s body on the ground beneath his balcony and, according to reports, the man had no shoes.
Police told the BBC that Mr Griffiths was alone, his room was locked from the inside and there was no evidence of forced entry at the time of his death.
When officers arrived at Griffiths’ flat they found two opened bottles of wine and a bottle of water.
A police source said: ‘Officers attended the scene and Quentin was confirmed dead. The ambulance took the body to the hospital for autopsy.
Emergency services are said to have found the millionaire’s body on the ground beneath his balcony
‘CCTV inside the building was checked. Quentin was the only person in the room, so we don’t believe anything suspicious happened.’
The autopsy did not reveal any evidence of foul play.
The online fashion retailer said Mr Griffiths “played a pivotal role” in the company’s early days and will be “forever grateful for his contribution”.
In a statement, the company said: ‘We are sorry to hear of the passing of Quentin, one of our co-founders.
‘He played a key role in the early days of Asos and we are forever grateful for his contribution.
‘Our thoughts are with his family and friends.’
Griffiths helped found Asos with Nick Robertson and Andrew Regan in 2000 and remained there until 2005.
The company has grown into a £3bn global retailer, with the Princess of Wales and Michelle Obama among those wearing the label’s designs.
He was a former advertising executive who resigned as marketing director after four years.
He later made £15 million from share sales in 2010 and received another stock windfall in 2013.
He later sued his accountants at BDO, saying he had been given incorrect advice on how to avoid tax on the sale.
He claimed the botched advice cost him more than £4m in taxes from the sale of more than £10m of shares in Asos and Achica, the online retailers he co-founded.
The father of three then moved to Thailand around 2007.
After divorcing his first wife, he married a Thai woman and had a son and a daughter. The couple separated several years ago.
An FCDO Spokesperson told the Daily Mail: ‘We are supporting the family of a British national who died in Thailand and are in contact with local authorities.’
