A Bloomberg report said former Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky's death has been recently ruled undetermined by a coroner, citing that the evidence had indicated potential foul play. Berezovsky, who is a staunch supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was found dead outside his home in London on March 23 last year with a noose around his neck in an apparent suicide.
The ruling of coroner Peter Bedford yesterday was done after two days of hearing tesimonies from medical professionals, employees and family about the state of mind of the Russian oligarch before he died. A pathologist tapped by Berezovsky's family had testified that the businessman might have been strangled, forcing Bedford to refuse that the cause of Berezovsky's death a suicide.
Telling audience at Berezovsky's inquest in Windsor, England, "It is impossible for me to find that he took his own life. It is impossible for me to find he was unlawfully killed."
The Russian's former spokesman, Timothy Bell, said at Bell Pottinger in London about his ex-boss' death, Berezovsky's death was "like him, a mystery. "I've never been convinced by the suicide story" but "I don't have the faintest idea what happened. I think that a lot of disinformation was spread about Boris. One of my jobs was to try and correct that."
During the inquest, witnesses had said that Berezovsky was a "broken man" and was relying on anti-depressants to get by whatever trouble he is facing. Moreover, the witnesses had also said that Berezovsky expressed thoughts about killing himself following the loss of his multi-million pound lawsuit against Russian owner of the Chelsea Football Club Roman Abramovich in 2012. Berezovsky's bodyguard, who first discovered his dead boss, said at the inquest that Berezovsky was worried about paying his creditors whom he owed around 200 million pounds ($330 million).
New York attorney Edward Mermelstein told Bloomberg that the inquest ruling could get the government involved. He said, "It appears that the coroner has opened the door for a continuation of an investigation. Since politics is driving the train on this questioned suicide, we may see the government get further involved."
