Russian businessman Alexander Perepilichnyy 'may have been poisoned'

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• From the sectionSurrey

Surrey Police said Alexander Perepilichnyy's death was not suspicious

A wealthy Russian businessman who died suddenly near his home in Surrey may have been poisoned, a pre-inquest hearing has been told.

Alexander Perepilichnyy, 44, collapsed and died in the road near his home in Weybridge, Surrey, on the evening of 10 November 2012.

Surrey Police investigated his death, but decided it was not suspicious.

However, new toxicology tests have shown that a rare poison may have been used to kill him.

BBC world affairs reporter Richard Galpin said Mr Perepilichnyy had told colleagues in London he had received death threats.

He had handed over sensitive documents to a businessman in London and to prosecutors in Switzerland, Galpin said. These implicated Russian officials and mafia members in the theft of $240m (£147m) from the Russian state through tax fraud.

The full inquest had been due to get under way earlier, but was delayed because of the new toxicology information.

Tests had showed a potential marker for a rare poison called gelsemium elegans. Further tests will be carried out to establish if the poison was in his body.