A Russian whistleblower who mysteriously died near his Surrey mansion could have been poisoned while in Paris, his inquest has heard.
Alexander Perepilichnyy, 44, collapsed and died while jogging near his home in Weybridge, in 2012, after spending the night with his lover n Paris.
His inquest has heard a wealth of evidence that Mr Perepilichnyy had been blowing the whistle on alleged organised crime in Russia.
Russian businessman Alexander Perepilichnyy collapsed and died near his home in Surrey in 2012. He had spent the previous night with his lover Elmira Medynska
A photo from the night of his death shows his body laying in a road not far from his home
Speaking at the conclusion of an inquest into the Russian’s death today, Coroner Nicholas Hilliard QC said that it is possible from the toxicology evidence that Mr Perepilichnyy was administered a poison while in Paris, Sky News reported.
However, the coroner said expert evidence suggested it was possible his reported sickness was just food poisoning.
Mr Hilliard highlighted a ‘significant lost opportunity’ to investigate the mysterious death, which was not initially treated as suspicious at the scene as no-one reported any ill effects or concerns.
As a result, mobile phones were not scrutinised straight away, no CCTV was seized and no forensic post-mortem examination was done until 18 days later, Mr Hilliard said.
The coroner added: ‘Faced with a middle-aged man in jogging clothes at the top of a steep hill, it is unsurprising those officers (at the scene) came to this view.’
He told the court that had police looked ‘carefully’ they could have found an article linking Mr Perepilichnyy to the alleged fraud and that he was ‘hiding in London’.
The coroner said: ‘One significant lost opportunity was the absence of an early forensic post-mortem examination.’
The night before his death, Mr Perepilichnyy had been sick after a meal out at a fish restaurant in Paris with his ex-model lover Elmira Medynska, 28, the inquest heard.
Ms Medynska told the inquest that Mr Perepilichnyy was shaking and drinking a lot and seemed ‘somewhere else’ throughout the evening they spent together before his death
Ms Medynska said he was shaking and drinking a lot and seemed ‘somewhere else’, throughout the evening.
Mr Perepilichnyy ordered tempura prawns or vegetables, but sent the food back after complaining about it, the inquest heard.
She said: ‘He said that he didn’t like the taste. He was very irritated and mad about the quality of the food.’
She added: ‘He was looking for people around us… I think he was a little bit stressed. I didn’t understand the reason why he was stressed, because it was nearly all French people in the restaurants, very old people.
Mr Perepilichnyy had been helping UK-based Mr Browder’s Hermitage Capital Investment expose a 230 million US dollar (£142 million in November 2012) money-laundering operation, the inquest was told.
The father-of-two was said to have appeared on a hit list in Moscow before his death.
He had taken out £3.5 million of life insurance and applied for another £5 million of policies amid concern to provide for his family, it was claimed.
Mr Perepilichnyy had been jogging near his home in Weybridge, Surrey, before his death
A month before his death, he had fought off a legal challenge by a debt recovery firm allegedly led by a prime suspect in the Alexander Litvinenko poison case, Dmitry Kovtun.
It was claimed an assassin may have wanted to kill him either to silence him or seek retribution and had the means to do it undetected.
Extensive tests have failed to identify any poison in Mr Perepilichnyy’s body, although experts could not categorically rule out a toxin or even a nerve agent such as Novichok.
It was alleged an undetectable poison could have been used, or that the opportunity to identify it was lost in the days after his death.
How the son of a Chernobyl doctor made made millions in post-Soviet chaos – but spent his time ‘solving physics problems’ and enjoying his favourite meal, sorrel soup
Alexander Perepilichnyy came from western Ukraine to win a place at a top Russian university studying physics
Russian businessman Alexander Perepilichnyy was a hard-working family man who was ‘humble’ despite accruing a fortune of more than £50million, his inquest heard.
Born in West Ukraine, he met his wife Tatiana Perepilichnaya in the 1980s, when they were students in Moscow.
Mrs Perepilichnaya said her husband was a ‘very kind person’ who was brought up in a remarkable family.
His father was a surgeon who died from leukaemia shortly after volunteering to help in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster.
Mr Perepilichnyy studied physics and technical science at a top Russian university before he married and had two children, now aged 17 and 15.
According to his widow, while still studying, he made money in computers before moving into manufacturing frozen vegetables and condensed milk.
He had offices in Moscow and factories in Russia and the Ukraine, she said.
According to bank documents, Mr Perepilichnyy gave his occupation as ‘industrialist’ and had a net worth of over £50million.
He was said to have benefited from the Perestroika in the Goraechev era and made his first fortune through his company, Gefest, which closed in 1990.
Mr Perepilichnyy made his money during the chaotic post-Soviet years when Russia was ruled by Boris Yeltsin (pictured in 1998)
In the mid-1990s, he set up the Moscow-based Horus Group, which moved from trade and financial operations into food distribution and real estate.
In 2006, he cashed in on the sale of shares in the Russian natural gas company Gazprom, the bank document stated.
But ‘full-time mother’ Mrs Perepilichnaya said she did not discuss work with her husband, and instead would discuss their children and large dog Samuray.
She knew nothing about his dealings with Bill Browder’s Hermitage firm, or whether or not her husband was on a hit list in Moscow.
He and his wife were keen to have their children educated in England and moved to the exclusive community of St George’s Hill near Weybridge in Surrey
He also kept her in the dark about meeting an ex-model lover in Paris the day before his death.
According to his widow, Mr Perepilichnyy was not interested in socialising – preferring reading and solving physics problems.
She said in a statement: ‘Alexander did not understand the need to socialise with people. He did not like to go out. He was not interested in status or self-aggrandisement himself. He was very humble.’
She described him as ‘apolitical’ and a ‘very private person’.
She said the family decided to move from Russia for the sake of their children’s education, moving first to Switzerland and then Britain in 2010.
At 6ft 1in tall, Mr Perepilichnyy’s struggled with his weight in the last 10 years of his life, peaking at more than 17 stone.
He put himself on a strict diet and went jogging up to five times a week so that by July 2012, his weight had dropped to just 12 and a half stone.
While not suffering from obvious health problems, Mrs Perepilichnaya said he had always been ‘stressed’.
She said: ‘He was no more stressed in the months up to his death than before. He stopped working such long hours and he spent more time with his children. He seemed more relaxed.’
At the time of his death, the family were living in rented accommodation in the exclusive community of St George’s Hill near Weybridge in Surrey.
They had a gardener, cleaner and driver, but Mr Perepilichnyy never felt the need for a bodyguard.
On the day of his death, he had just returned from Paris and seemed ‘completely normal’ as his wife prepared one of his favourite meals for lunch, a traditional a sorrel soup.
On the devastating impact of his death, Mrs Perepilichnaya said: ‘From the moment the police confirmed his death I had a physical reaction. I was cold, my jaw locked up and I couldn’t talk properly. I was trembling all over and I remember feeling completely overwhelmed.
‘It was very difficult to leave my house after his death in part due to the fact that I would have to face the street where Alexander died whenever I left my house.’
She added that everything that has happened since he died has affected their children and ‘damaged their future’.