I wanted Tom Cruise to play me in a movie - until he 'started dating my Russian socialite ex-wife': Oligarch who's survived two assassination attempts in the UK reveals astonishing twist - as world is captivated by Hollywood star's 'new romance'

A Russian oligarch who survived two assassination attempts in the UK has revealed he wanted Tom Cruise to play him in a movie - until he found out the Hollywood star  was dating his ex-wife. 

Dmitry Tsvetkov split from his spouse of 10 years Elsina Khayrova - the daughter of a prominent Russian MP and ally of Vladimir Putin - following a bitter divorce that had to be taken to the High Court earlier this year. 

While the mother-of-two suffered a blow after a judge reportedly concluded she was 'guilty of sustained duplicity', including lying over possession of a bag worth almost £1 million, she has since risen from the ashes.

This week, the Mail revealed that the model, 36, had been canoodling with the Top Gun star at an elite party in London's Mayfair, with a source revealing they were 'inseparable, clearly a couple. He seemed to be besotted with her'. 

Tsvetkov said he only found out about the relationship when the story was published online, adding he found the discussions about the romance particularly surreal after previously talking about Cruise, 61, playing him in a film about his life story.

The Russian tycoon, who is a international deal mediator and diamond trader, told the Telegraph: 'After the judgment in August, a friend of mine who is a producer in Hollywood said 'why don't we do a movie?' 

'It would be about the three assassination attempts, about the divorce. And I said 'fine but only if Tom Cruise can be the actor'.

'When I was at school in Russia the guy was so popular. I have enjoyed his movies and he is a great actor. I would make the movie like Mission: Impossible because that is how it's happened to me.' 

He added that while Cruise was almost two decades older than him, they are both similar weights and heights. 

Cruise and his new love interest were spotted arriving at a party in Grosvenor Square together, with Khayrova wearing a strapless black dress with a diamanté bow. 

She posed for pictures with Avramenko Aliena, a former Miss Europe contestant before hitting the dance floor with her Hollywood-royalty plus one. 

Cruise has not been publicly linked to anyone since his divorce from his third wife, Katie Holmes, 15 years ago.

Khayrova asked Tsvetkov for a divorce last year bringing their decade-long marriage to an abrupt end. 

Together, they shared a plethora of properties, including a £22million mansion on Surrey's Wentworth estate as well as five flats in London worth a total of £18million.

They also held properties in both Dubai and Cyprus worth £2million alongside their extensive luxury car, jewellery and art collections worth millions of pounds.

The High Court heard last year that their collection included Ferrari and Bentley 'supercars', 'expensive Cartier jewellery' and works by artists Renoir and Marc Chagall, according to The Times.

It is not clear where Khayrova lives now, but it is thought to be in London. Based on an interview given by Tsvetkov to the Daily Telegraph in January, it is thought that he lives in the Surrey mansion, suggesting he kept the house in the split.

Their acrimonious divorce hit the headlines in the summer after Khayrova was accused of hiding substantial assets from her ex-husband.

Tsvetkov has claimed that his former partner's new relationship is a welcome distraction, telling the paper: 'Nobody is speaking to me about Russian sanctions. Now it's speaking to me about her and him.' 

In February Khayrova was accused of lying about her collection of more than 150 handbags, saying she only had 20.

Mr Justice Peel said in his judgement handed down at the High Court that the case had been 'infected by [Khayrova's] dishonesty from start to finish'. He added that she 'led the court on a merry dance about handbags' by lying about the assets.

Throughout the bitter legal process another argument sprung from the couple's valuable jewelllery collection which included investment grade diamonds and a Patek Philippe watch, which were kept in a safe deposit box at Harrods.

The key to the box was held by Tsvetkov, but the high court heard how Khayrova convinced staff at the store that the keys were lost and got a set for herself without telling her husband and later omitted the items from evidence.

The court was also told how Tsvetkov, an entrepreneur who first came to the UK in 2004 and was granted a British passport and indefinite leave to remain five years later, hasn't been able to make 'meaningful sums of money' since June 2022.

This was due to Khayrova blocking his access to the family bank accounts, the court heard. But Mr Justice Peel said he was optimistic that 'clever, resourceful and well-connected' Tsvetkov would soon be able to start trading again.

Khayrova, on the other hand, did not work during the marriage and tried setting up a coffee business during the divorce proceedings which failed.

'There is no real indication that her next business proposition, a private members' beauty club, is likely to be financially fruitful,' the judge said.

Mr Justice Peel ruled that the 'greater responsibility for this expensive litigation' fell to Khayrova, who was ordered to pay half of her husband's £1,761,488 legal bill.

She was also seen in court in 2022 when she was ordered to pay £117,000 that she owed to the company who installed fountains in her Surrey home.

At the beginning of this year Tsvetkov insisted he should not be counted among the Russian 'Oligarch' class insisting he was more of a 'Tycoon'.

He moved to the UK under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme in November 2004. By 2009 he was given indefinite leave to remain being handed a British passport in 2010.

His career began as diamond seller before growing into other business dealings across the world.

While a number of wealthy Russians were sanction in the wake of Putin's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he avoided the list. He told the paper he had not been in Russia since 2017 and there was no reason for him to be sanctioned. 

Meanwhile Khayrova is the daughter of Russian politician Rinat Khayrov, who worked in the country's ministry of defence before being elected to parliament in 2011, where he served until 2021.

He is thought to earn £105,000-a-year as a member of president Putin's United Russia party. While seen very much as a Putin ally, he is not thought to be in the Russian president's inner circle.

On her Instagram - which she turned private yesterday - the model shows off her jet setting, socialite life, posing in Venice, San Tropez, Monte Carlo, Qatar and California. But as a British citizen London remains her main stomping ground.