Berezovsky Death: Body Found Lying On Floor

An employee of Boris Berezovsky has told police he forced open a bathroom door at the Russian exile's home and discovered the oligarch's body on the floor.

The employee called the ambulance service after he became concerned about the 67-year-old's welfare, having not seen him since about 10.30pm the night before.

He then forced open the bathroom door, which was locked from the inside, according to a statement released by Thames Valley Police.

Police say the employee was the only other person in the Ascot home when the body was discovered, adding that there is no evidence so far that a "third party" was involved in the death.

A paramedic who attended the scene declared Mr Berezovsky to be dead.

Police say that upon leaving the property, the paramedic's personal electronic dosimeter (PED) was triggered.

The PED is a health and safety device carried by all paramedics to measure nuclear radiation exposure. It is not clear how the device was triggered, or what triggered it. The ambulance service said that some devices are more sensitive than others.

"As a result of this, specialist CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) officers were asked to confirm that the scene was safe and clear to work in, which they subsequently did," police said.

A police investigation is taking place at Mr Berezovsky's mansion

Chemical, biological and nuclear experts searching the home have also given the scene the all clear after finding "nothing of concern".

Most of the cordon which had been put in place around the perimeter of the property in Ascot, Berkshire, has also been lifted.

Officers are carrying out a "full and thorough investigation" at the property to find out the circumstances surrounding Mr Berezovsky's "unexplained" death.

It has been reported the oligarch, who had been a strong critic of President Vladimir Putin's rule in Russia, was discovered in the bath after taking his own life, but this has not been confirmed.

He was a friend of murdered dissident Alexander Litvinenko, who died in London after consuming radioactive polonium in 2006.

Mr Berezovsky's lawyer Alexander Dobrovinsky told Russian state television he had been informed by contacts in London that Mr Berezovsky had killed himself.

He said: "Berezovsky has been in a terrible state as of late. He was in debt. He felt destroyed. He was forced to sell his paintings and other things."

Mr Berezovsky had fallen out with Russian President Vladimir Putin

It is thought he had done badly in the financial crisis. In 2009 his wealth was estimated at £450m, but he is thought to have spent £100m on the £3.7bn lawsuit against Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich last year, which he lost.

In an interview with Forbes Russia magazine on the eve of his death, Mr Berezovsky said he had lost "meaning" from his life and wanted to return to Russia.

He said he had "underestimated how important" Russia was to him, and he felt uncomfortable as an immigrant in Britain.

He admitted he had been "idealistic" about the prospects of creating democracy in Russia, and about the type of democracy that existed in the West, and his views had changed.

Mr Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state TV that Mr Berezovsky had recently written to the president to ask for a pardon and to say that he wanted to return to Russia.

He said: "He asked Putin for forgiveness for his mistakes and asked him to obtain the opportunity to return to the motherland."

Speaking to Sky News, a friend of Mr Berezovsky, said she did not think his death was suspicious.

Sasha Nerozina said: "There is nothing to be suspicious about, as far as I understand. It is shocking, terrible news. It is not something you expect. He was full of life and love ... we expected him to outlive us all."

A police car near the oligarch's home

She said Mr Berezovsky had been left "demoralised" by losing the high-profile legal battle with Mr Abramovich in 2012.

Dr Yuri Felshtinsky, author of The Putin Corporation and a close associate of Mr Berezovsky, said he recently spoke to him and "he was looking forward to the future and did not seem to be suicidal".

Mr Berezovsky, a former mathematics professor, made his fortune in Russia in the 1990s when he bought up state assets which were being sold off cheaply.

He had lived in Britain from 2000, having fled from Russia after falling out with Mr Putin.

In fear of his life, he sought political asylum and moved to the South East of England, buying upmarket properties in Knightsbridge, London, and Berkshire.

The businessman survived a number of assassination attempts, including a bomb in his car that decapitated his chauffeur.

He became a vocal and strong critic of Mr Putin's rule in Russia, where had become a wanted man.

James Nixey, head of Chatham House's Russia programme, said: "He is the most virulently anti-Kremlin, anti-Putin of the oligarchs.

"He was certainly willing to spend his money, what little he had left, in an attempt to use it to end the current regime in Russia.

"He had bodyguards, there were attempts on his life that even the security service in the UK had warned him about.

"It's certainly not the first case of Russians and people from the former Soviet Union, more broadly, who have been involved in difficult, embarrassing disputes with the Kremlin, to have died in relatively mysterious circumstances."

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