Billionaire critic of Putin may have been murdered, rules coroner

Boris Berezovsky, the Russian oligarch and critic of Vladimir Putin, may have been murdered, a coroner ruled.

Mr Berezovsky's daughter, Elizaveta, had told how she feared that he had been assassinated by Kremlin "enemies" for warning that the Russian president was a "danger to the world".

A forensic pathologist hired by Mr Berezovsky's family also told the inquest that he believed the former billionaire had been strangled to death by a "third party".

Mr Berezovsky, 67, was found dead in a bathroom at his former wife's £20 million home in Ascot, Berks, in March last year. He had a ligature around his neck.

The inquest previously heard that a mystery fingerprint was found near the body and a paramedic's radiation alarm had sounded upon entering the house, leading to speculation that the oligarch was killed by Russian enemies.

On Thursday, Peter Bedford, the coroner, added to the mystery when he delivered an open conclusion. He said: "I am not saying that he took his own life, I'm not saying he was unlawfully killed, the burden of proof sets such a high standard that it is impossible for me to say.

"The evidence I have before me does not fully disclose the means by which Mr Berezovsky's death arose."

The ruling means that it is still unclear how Mr Berezovsky died. The possibility that he was murdered has echoes of the death of Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB spy who was allegedly poisoned by Russians in London in November 2006.

Mr Bedford's ruling came after the inquest heard new evidence from Prof Bernd Brinkmann, an expert on hanging and asphyxiation cases, who said that Mr Berezovsky was strangled.

Prof Brinkmann told the inquest in Windsor: "In my view there is no way for death by hanging."

He said that this was because in cases of hanging there is usually an inverted V–shaped mark, caused by the ligature being pulled tight upwards, but in this circumstance it was more circular.

He also said that congestion to Mr Berezovsky's face was not consistent with being hanged.

He suggested that the exiled Russian could have been attacked suddenly from behind and quickly strangled, which was why there were no signs of a struggle.

Before his death, Mr Berezovsky spoke of "enemies in Russia who were trying to destroy him". He had survived two assassination attempts. One in 2007 was intercepted by Scotland Yard.

The inquest heard how Mr Berezovsky had become depressed and would talk frequently about killing himself after losing a multi–million–pound court case to Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea Football Club owner. He also asked family and friends what would be the best way to commit suicide.

But another of Mr Berezovsky's daughters, Anastasia, told the inquest that she had been concerned about her father's safety after he was forced to cut back on security. In a statement, she said: "I still find it hard to dismiss the belief that my father's life was no longer under threat following the trial against Roman Ambramovich.

"He found himself living, for the first time in many years, in an unsecured property with minimal security while under political asylum in the UK."

^{Boris Berezovsky's daughters Elizaveta and Ekatrina (AP)}

Elizaveta Berezovskaya told the inquest that she was concerned Mr Berezovsky, an associate of Mr Litvinenko, had also been poisoned. She said she noticed a change in him and he had told her "something strange" was happening "like a chemical reaction".

Miss Berezovskaya said: "When he said it was like there was a chemical reaction inside of him, I thought then straight away that he could have been poisoned — he was so different from what he was, always in a bad mood.

"I can think of many people interested in my father's death."

When asked by the coroner if she knew who these people were, she replied: "Yes, I think we all know."

Miss Berezovskaya said her father had long warned about the threat posed by Mr Putin and recent events in Ukraine proved that he was right.

"He was saying that Putin was a danger to the whole world and you can see that now," she said. "He was the first person saying that. For 14 years my father has been saying that."

The coroner put it to Miss Berezovskaya that her father was no longer a target, because his depression had led him to withdraw from politics in the final months of his life. "He was a target always," she replied. "My father was a very serious political figure." But she added: "I still don't exclude the possibility of suicide."

The inquest had previously heard that the oligarch had booked a holiday to Israel, which, his family says, casts doubt on the theory that he killed himself. Miss Berezovskaya said she felt that the police investigation had "not answered all the questions", stating, as an example, the fact that it was only discovered on Tuesday that the door of the bathroom where he was found dead could be locked from the outside.

Dr Simon Poole, the Home Office pathologist, told the inquest that no tests had detected any poison in Mr Berezovsky's system and concluded that he died as a result of hanging.

He said it was "quite difficult to conceive" that a third party was involved and said he believed Mr Berezovsky committed suicide. Summing up, Mr Bedford said he had been presented with contrasting accounts from two "eminent" experts which meant he was not able to say, beyond all reasonable doubt, how Mr Berezovsky died. He said that he would have had "little difficulty" in concluding that he took his own life, but recorded an open conclusion, saying it was "impossible" to be sure how the oligarch died.

The details that don't add up

The inquest heard about a number of "strange" details surrounding the death of Boris Berezovsky.

The first paramedic on the scene, John Pocock, told how his radiation alarm sounded when he was at the property. A later sweep however found no trace. He also described how Mr Berezovsky's face was a "deep purple" and that normally, patients who had hanged were "quite pale".

Professor Bernd Brinkmann, hired by the exiled oligarch's family, also raised questions about the colour of Mr Berezovsky's face which he said was "congestion syndrome". In addition he said the marks around Mr Berezovsky's neck were a different shape from those in hanging cases, which suggested to him that he had been strangled.

The inquest heard about a mystery fingerprint found in the bathroom where Mr Berezovsky was discovered. Police have been unable to identify it.

A neighbour told how she had seen an unknown man wearing a hat walking in the Titness Park estate, where Mr Berezovsky was living, two days before he died. He has never been traced.

Mr Berezovsky's family and friends said they did not believe he would commit suicide. He had booked a holiday and had secured financial assistance from a friend which would have eased his money problems.