Notre amis Poutine fait le ménage chez ses hommes d’affaires véreux...
Police and radiation experts were alerted after controversial Russian
oligarch Boris Berezovsky was hit by a mystery illness at his
£20 million country estate in Britain. The 65-year-old
billionaire felt so sick for a fortnight that it was feared he may have
been the victim of a radioactive poisoning attack similar to that which
killed his close friend, former Russian KGB officer Alexander
Litvinenko, in 2006. Security aides to Mr Berezovsky – a
bitter enemy of Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin – called
in forensic experts from the Health Protection Agency to screen his
mansion at Weybridge, Surrey, and his other homes and offices last
month. Mr Berezovsky flew to Israel for a check-up by his personal
doctors before being given the medical all-clear. Traces of Polonium 210
were found at Mr Berezovsky’s offices in Mayfair soon after
the death of Mr Litvinenko, whose widow has accused Mr Putin and the
Russian secret service of his murder. He had met Mr Berezovsky at the
offices not long before he died. Mr Berezovsky made the news earlier
this week after it was confirmed Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich lost
an appeal against him by former business partnet Mr Berezovsky. Mr
Abramovich had asked the Court of Appeal to overturn a ruling by High
Court judge Mr Justice Colman who refused to strike out the action. But
three appeal judges agreed that the claim - scheduled for trial next
year - should go ahead. Mr Berezovsky alleged that Mr Abramovich used
’threats and intimidation’ to force him to sell shares in Russian oil
company Sibneft at a fraction of their value. These threats included
pressure from Mr Abramovich that if the shares were not sold, they would
be expropriated by the Kremlin, according to the claim. On appeal, Mr
Abramovich said the claim for intimidation should be struck out because
it does not allege he threatened that he would do something illegitimate
and actions of the Russian state cannot be determined by the UK courts.