Prosecutors launched a probe into the death...
Trifonova, diagnosed with diabetes and ailing kidneys, was detained last December along with two accomplices on charges of large-scale fraud.
Sergei Marchenko said, according to preliminary information, wheelchair-bound Trifonova died of heart problems at a medical ward at the Matrosskaya Tishina pre-detention center.
Trifonova, who headed KitElitNedvizhimost real estate agency, was charged with attempting to sell a seat in the Russian parliament to Pavel Razumov, a board chairman of MFT-Bank, for $1.5 million.
According to investigators, Trifonova and her accomplice Georgy Shamiryan, a former deputy of the Magadan Regional Duma, promised the banker to lobby his interests to get the seat in the Russian parliament, but instead they decided to steal the money.
Vladimir Zherebenkov, a lawyer for Trifonova, said the defense earlier asked to release her from custody in the pre-detention center due to her poor health.