Henley on Thames, Berks - Hope is fading fast tonight for former Gore 2000 supporter and Interpol Red Notice fugitive Andrey Borodin's $220m (£140m) Palladian pile on the banks of the River Thames in Berkshire.
Park Place, a 100-room marble and gilt glory hole set in one thousand sprawling riverside acres, became the UK's most expensive country home in 2011 when Borodin 'acquired' it in a mysterious offshore deal.
A series of shady under-the-carpet transactions while on the run from Russian bankruptcy courts saw the former Moscow banker become Lord of the Manor of Remenham - with valuable hunting and shooting rights over a huge swathe of the Berkshire countryside.
Tonight only the five storey mansion's chimneys were visible above the stagnant flood waters that have turned much of the surrounding Thames Valley into a vast stewing swamp.
The property is thought to be Borodin's only major asset, ring fenced in a series of complex trusts to shield it from the Russian Government's attempts to claw back a staggering 13 billion roubles** that they say he owes.
Last month his UK political asylum application was still under official consideration as British and Russian government lawyers fought to hammer out a deal.
But whatever final decision about asylum is taken the crumbling remains of Park Place must be addressed.
** $250m
