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Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky found dead | |
(35 minutes later) | |
The exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky has been found dead at his home in Surrey. | The exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky has been found dead at his home in Surrey. |
The circumstances of the death of the 67-year-old - a wanted man in Russia, and an opponent of President Vladimir Putin - are not yet known. | |
A former Kremlin power-broker whose fortunes declined under Mr Putin, Mr Berezovsky emigrated to the UK in 2000. | |
Last year, he lost a £3bn ($4.7bn) damages claim against Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich. | |
Mr Berezovsky claimed he had been intimidated by Mr Abramovich into selling shares in Russian oil giant Sibneft for a "fraction of their true worth". | |
The allegations were completely rejected by the London Commercial Court judge, who called Mr Berozovsky an "inherently unreliable" witness. | |
Diminished wealth | |
Mr Berezovsky had made his fortune in the 1990s selling imported Mercedes as well as Russian-made cars. | |
Later owning Sibnet and as primary shareholder in Russia's main television channel, he supported Boris Yeltsin's rise to power. | |
Mr Berezovsky survived numerous assassination attempts, including a bomb that decapitated his chauffeur. | |
During the later years of Yeltsin's presidency, Mr Berezovsky was part of the leader's inner circle as deputy secretary of Russia's security council. | |
He then played a role in Mr Putin's rise in the late-1990s, before the new president moved to curb the political ambitions of Russia's oligarchs. | |
Mr Berezovsky left Russia for self-imposed exile in the UK at the end of 2000. | |
In recent years, his wealth is thought to have considerably diminished and costly court cases have left him struggling to pay debts. |