Glamorous 19-year-old, whose dad is one of Putin’s enemies, is found dead after her BMW crashes into a lake
Heiress Diana Lebedeva was a leading member of the Moscow "golden youth"
THE GLAMOROUS 19-year-old granddaughter of one of Vladimir Putin's most prominent business enemies has died after her BMW spun off a Swiss road and crashed into a lake.
Heiress Diana Lebedeva - known to her friends as Lady Di - was a leading member of the wealthy Moscow "golden youth" pack.
She was in a BMW X6 driven by friend Azer Yagubov, 23, son of an Azerbaijani businessman, who was also killed.
Both the friends had been educated in Switzerland.
Her grandfather banker Platon Lebedev, 59, was jailed for 11 years tax on evasion, money laundering and embezzlement charges.
His conviction was widely seen as politically motivated.
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Their deaths were confirmed by the Russian embassy in Bern.
The incident took place at 4am on Thursday, after the vehicle crashed through a barrier and plunged into Lake Lugano, close to the village of Castagnola.
Their bodies were found at the bottom of the lake along with the vehicle.
Tributes flooded in for the teenager, with Diana described as "one of the brightest stars among Moscow's golden youth".
One wrote: "Our girl, rest in peace".
Another posted: "I do not believe that you are no more in the world. Diana, you're in my memory forever remains the ten-year-old girl, which I first saw you on the porch.
"Simply impossible to believe."
"Why did she choose a nickname like that: didn't she know how Princess Diana ended her days?" another asked.
Diana Lebedeva was born in the year that the princess died, 19 year ago.
Police are probing what caused the car to crash, while unconfirmed reports said the vehicle had been in a "race" in the lead up to the incident.
The bodies of the two victims are to be flown back to Russia.
Lebedev was a close business associate of former billionaire and Putin foe Mikhail Khodorkovsky, head of Yukos oil company.
Khodorkovsky was also jailed by the Russian authorities.
Lebedev was jailed in July 2003 and released in January 2014, the month after Khodorkovsky had been pardoned by Putin.
Lebedev headed the currency and finance department of Khodorkovsky's Bank Menatep.
In the wake of their release, former Yukos shareholders launched a $50 billion legal action for damages seized from them under Putin's rule.
Lebedev has four children. Diana was one of three grandchildren.
