The Russian millionaire and whistleblower Alexander Perepilitschnij probably died a natural death six years ago. This is the result of a judicial inquiry in the UK, which was announced on Wednesday.
Perepilitschnij collapsed and died while jogging in 2012 near his home in Surrey, UK. The 44-year-old Russian had, according to witness reports, helped expose a case of money laundering and was said to have received death threats. Suspicions that he may have been poisoned, but could not prove, as the judge found on Wednesday.
Two years after Perepilitschnij's death, his life insurance had led to investigations into finding traces of a poison from a Chinese plant called Gelsemium in his stomach. The substance can cause a cardiac arrest.
Now the presiding judge said it was all in favor of the businessman having died a natural death. "In the light of all the testimonies we have heard, I am convinced that it is unlikely that Mr. Perepilitschnij was poisoned." The cause of death was found to be sudden heart failure.
In March, the former Russian secret agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter were attacked in the English town of Salisbury with the neurotoxin Nowitschok. Both survived. Britain blames Russia for the attack. Following these incidents, Britain had ordered 14 cases to be re-examined - the case of Perepilitschnij was one of them.