Russian tycoon Berezovsky found dead

He had a bitter falling out with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the last few years

Boris Berezovsky, a self-exiled and outspoken Russian tycoon who had a bitter falling out with Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been found dead in southeast England. He was 67.

In recent years, the one-time Kremlin powerbroker-turned-thorn in Putin's side fended off attacks on his character and on his fortune - sometimes successfully, sometimes not - in cases that often bore political undertones.

Thames Valley police said Berezovsky's death was being treated as unexplained. They would not directly identify him, but when asked about him by name they read a statement saying they were investigating the death of a 67-year-old man at a property in Ascot, a town 40 kilometers west of London.

A mathematician-turned-Mercedes dealer, Berezovsky amassed his wealth during Russia's chaotic privatisation of state assets in the early 1990s. In return for backing former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, he gained political clout and opportunities to buy state assets at knockdown prices, making a fortune in oil and automobiles.

He also played a key role in the rise of Yeltsin's successor, Vladimir Putin, but later fell out of favour with the new leader and fled to Britain to seek political asylum in the early 2000s.

After coming into power, the Russian president effectively made a pact: the oligarchs could keep their money if they didn't challenge him politically. Those who refused found themselves in dire circumstances. Some were imprisoned, like the former Yukos Oil chief Mikhail Khodorkovsky, while others, like Berezovsky, fled.

In the UK, Berezovsky allied himself with an array of prominent Kremlin critics. Among them was ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, who fled Russia with Berezovsky's help after accusing officials there of plotting to assassinate political opponents.

Berezovsky, who considered Litvinenko a close friend, consistently denied the allegations.

Berezovsky recently has made headlines for costly legal battles, which have dealt serious blows to his finances. Last year, the Russian business magnate was ordered to pay $53.3 million in legal costs to fellow Russian Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Chelsea Football Club, after losing a multimillion-dollar legal battle against him.

Earlier this week, The Times of London newspaper reported that Berezovsky was selling property to settle his debts.

The Russian president's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said in a telephone interview on state television that Berezovsky had sent a letter to Putin about two months ago asking to be allowed to return to Russia.