Mystery death of Russian businessman now examined by Major Crimes Unit

The Telegraph

An investigation into the sudden death of a Russian supergrass in Surrey is now being reviewed by specialist detectives amid mounting concern that he could have been murdered.

Alexander Perepilichnyy’s, 44, who moved to Britain three years ago after falling out with a Moscow crime syndicate, was found dead outside his mansion on an exclusive private estate near Weybridge last month.

His death has so far been described as “unexplained” and Surrey police initially stated that it was not being treated as suspicious.

But after it emerged that Mr Perepilichnyy’s was co-operating with the Swiss authorities in a major corruption investigation linked to a string of other deaths, police chiefs ordered that the case be passed to force’s Major Crimes Unit.

Police sources said the unit, which investigates complex murder cases, would be now taking a fresh look at the circumstances of Mr Perepilichnyy’s death.

Detectives will speak to his friends and business associates in a renewed effort to establish how a 44-year-old man, who was apparently in good health, came to suddenly collapse and die.

One theory being explored is that he could have been poisoned in a similar fashion to Alexander Litvinenko, the former KGB agent who died in London in 2006 after being contaminated with radioactive Polonium 210.

Detectives are awaiting the results of toxicology tests but have warned that they could take several months to be completed.

Associates of Mr Perepilichnyy have claimed that Surrey police were slow off the mark in recognising the complexity of the case.

Mr Perepilichnyy sought sanctuary in the UK in 2009 after agreeing to expose a sophisticated network of corrupt Moscow businessmen suspected of involvement in a massive tax fraud.

The network, which was allegedly tied up with the Klyuev organised crime syndicate, was thought to be behind a scam which had cost the British based company Hermitage Capital Management millions of pounds.
Mr Browder, the CEO of Hermitage, has accused Surrey Police of being slow off the mark in recognising the complexity of the case.

He said his lawyers had written to the force on a number of occasions to urge them to carry out a specialist post-mortem.

Mr Browder explained: “They contacted Surrey police multiple times to make sure they were treating this seriously, but were brushed off entirely.”

He claimed it was only when media reports surfaced last week that the force passed the case to murder detectives in the Major Crimes Unit to look at.

A spokesman for Surrey Police said: “The investigation has always been ongoing. The Major Crimes Unit is now examining the circumstances of Mr Perepilichnyy’s death which is being treated as unexplained.”
Hermitage was one of the largest foreign investors in Russia until becoming the victim of a £144 million tax fraud scheme in 2007.

Moscow based lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who was hired by Hermitage to investigate the claims, concluded that Moscow tax officials had been laundering millions of pounds through Swiss bank accounts.
But after going public with his claims and testifying against several senior police officers in the Russian capital, Mr Magnitsky was arrested and placed in prison.

The 37-year-old was held for more than a year without trial and was eventually found dead in his prison cell on 16 November 2009 after allegedly being beaten and tortured.

Two other men, who were believed to be embroiled in the scandal, Octai Gasanov and Valery Kurochkin, were also found dead in mysterious and unexplained circumstances in Russia and Ukraine.

Despite the efforts of investigators the investigation into the alleged money laundering had been faltering until Mr Perepilichnyy handed over a cache of documents to Swiss prosecutors.

His associates believe his death could well be linked with the case and are urging the police to ensure all aspects of his life in Russia and Britain are closely examined. hairy woman займ онлайн https://zp-pdl.com/online-payday-loans-cash-advances.php https://zp-pdl.com/emergency-payday-loans.php срочный займ на карту онлайн