On his company website Duncan Bannatyne lists the businesses which have come under his wing after winning approval on Dragons' Den. After a perfect sales pitch, filmed in the spring but seen by millions of viewers last week, Tracy Baker should have been among them.

Her innovative suction product for attaching items to walls without the need for glue, tape or nails caught the eye of Bannatyne. The Scot ended up agreeing to invest £60,000 in exchange for a stake in her franchise.

However, the deal has come unstuck after it emerged that Tracy, 33, is the fiance of a millionaire who is under investigation for killing a former lover.

In 2009 Kinga Legg, a wealthy Polish businesswoman, was found dead in the £1,000-a-night suite of a five-star Paris hotel. Ian Griffin went on the run and was arrested a week later in the UK following an international manhunt. He was sent back to France to face trial and is living in various areas, including the Alps, from where he boasted of winning Dragons' Den.

When Bannatyne was alerted that Griffin was apparently pulling the strings he dropped out.

It's the latest twist in an increasingly bizarre case, which began five years ago when Griffin, now 45, and Kinga travelled to the French capital to try to rekindle their romance. Both were part of the so-called Cheshire set and enjoyed flaunting their wealth.

Former male model Griffin was involved in a string of businesses, including a chain of tanning studios, a gadgets company and novelty goods stores. He is said to have mixed with celebrities and driven an orange Lamborghini once owned by Eric Clapton. Home, when he first met Kinga, was a £3.9million country estate.

Kinga, 36, a glamorous divorcee, ran a successful company which exported tomatoes. Born Kinga Wolf, she came to Britain in 1996 after meeting Lancashire council worker Peter Legg on a town twinning exchange and marrying him. She was a regular on the party scene around upmarket Alderley Edge and left her second husband, Eric Kilby, for Griffin. It was a volatile relationship and police had been called when Kinga had allegedly tried to attack Griffin with a knife.

At the time they were living in a mansion in Surrey. He claims they were addicted to tranquillisers and were heavy drinkers.

The couple were spending a few days in Paris before travelling on to the South of France to pick up a yacht, but there was a furious argument in a restaurant.

Back in suite 503 at the hotel Griffin claims Kinga attacked him and fired a stun gun disguised as a stick of lipstick. He defended himself and she fell, striking her head on a coffee table. She went to bed and the following morning Griffin claims he fled after panicking when he discovered she was dead.

The police version is that Kinga was allegedly battered to death and her naked body found in the bath.

Shattered glass and furniture lay everywhere and she had suffered multiple injuries. Griffin, who put a do not disturb sign on the door before driving away in his Porsche, remains the chief suspect.

He was arrested a week later in Cheshire and then later extradited to France.

Griffin spent almost two years in prison before his unexpected release last year when he looked frail and walked with a stick. He immediately checked into another plush hotel, the George V. At the time French police said they did not consider him a risk to others but he is not in the clear.

Under the French legal system he has effectively been charged with killing Kinga. He is on bail and expected to face trial next year.

For two years from 2006, long before she applied to enter the Dragons' lair, Tracy Baker was Griffin's girlfriend. At one stage they lived in one of Britain's wealthiest neighbourhoods, Sandbanks in Dorset.

After Kinga's death and Griffin's arrest she rushed to his side. Ever since she has been his staunchest supporter and they are said to have become engaged when he was released from prison.

Baker is credited as the author of a website entitled The Truth, which proclaims Griffin's innocence. It gives an account of his tempestuous relationship with the Polish woman and defends his character.

Baker, who includes a Polish translation, states: "A trial will prove, beyond any doubt, that this was not murder."

She says that her fiancé, who was a multi-millionaire by his early 20s, has taken lie-detector tests which support his innocence.

Baker portrays Kinga as a violent and jealous alcoholic who made Griffin's life a misery. She says she pursued him relentlessly over 10 years, even when he was in other relationships, and that he was too weak and depressed to break away. She says: "Ian is, by far, the most caring, kindest, biggest-hearted person I have ever met. He is incredibly intelligent, a bit of a workaholic and somewhat of a perfectionist."

Griffin admits that he was in love with Kinga and they had discussed marriage. "I loved Kinga very much and was devastated by her death. I fully understand that Kinga's death had to be investigated properly. All I know is that I had nothing to do with causing it. I just want to put flowers on her grave and remember her for the good times."

Of the woman who is now standing by him, he says: "Tracy never stopped believing in me and nor did my family. I kept pictures of Tracy on my cell wall. We are very much in love now and just want to spend our life together."

Griffin says his bail conditions do not prevent him from leaving France but he's intent on staying to clear his name.

He is currently dividing his time between luxury rented homes in France and is travelling between the Paris area and the Alps as well as the Riviera.

"Money has never been a problem for Ian," says a former business associate and friend.

"He was extremely charismatic and hard-working when he was younger, and became a very successful entrepreneur. He made a lot of money through start-ups and has stashed plenty of money away.

"Ian loves the good things in life - the sun, the sea, the food. France offers all that in spades and that's why he has no problem being there."

As Griffin awaits trial he has been busy pursuing new business interests, including a comparison shopping website. But it is his believed role in the suction product, called Um!Brands, which set alarm bells ringing at Duncan Bannatyne's headquarters in Darlington, County Durham.

Baker, who gave a polished performance on Dragons' Den, insists that she is behind the franchise and that Griffin has nothing to do with it.

However, Griffin's ill-judged boast on a social media site about winning Dragons' Den is thought to have finished the partnership between his fianc©e and Bannatyne.

A spokeswoman for Bannatyne says: "Duncan is no longer proceeding with the offer of investment. That's all we are saying."

Tracy Baker and Ian Griffin will continue to fight to clear his name but Bannatyne's decision on funding appears to be irreversible.