Poisoning suspicions hang over Russian’s death probe
London, UK - The lawyer for a Russian millionaire who mysteriously died in England after helping expose an alleged Russian money laundering scheme urged an inquest on Friday not to dismiss the possibility his client was poisoned.
Alexander Perepilichny (44) collapsed in November 2012 while jogging near his mansion in the southeastern county of Sur- rey. An investigation by Surrey Police found he died of natural causes but there have also been suspicions he was murdered following orders from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Perepilichny moved to Britain in 2009 and helped arch-critic of the Kremlin, investor Bill Browder, document allegations that US$230mn was stolen from his Hermitage Capital hedge fund by Russian officials.
Browder said Perepilichny provided ‘lock-tight documentary evidence’ in the case.
On the last day of the inquest, London’s High Court heard how the businessman appeared on a ‘hit list’ in Moscow and had applied for additional life insurance before his death.
He had also just finished fighting off a legal challenge, allegedly spearheaded by one of the two Russians that Britain believes poisoned former spy Alexander Litvinenko with a radioactive substance in London in 2006.
The coroner leading the inquest ruled on Tuesday that material that could reveal whether Perepilichny was also working with British spies could not be revealed for national security reasons.
Extensive tests have failed to identity any poison in Perepilichny’s body. Police believes he died from ‘sudden adult death syndrome’ (SADs).
But the lawyer representing Perepilichny urged the coroner not to ‘brush away’ the possibility that he was poisoned with an agent used by Russia that could be hard to identify.