Key Informant In Magnitsky Case Reportedly Dies In Britain

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(RFE/RL) — Reports say a Russian businessman who was helping Swiss prosecutors uncover an alleged money-laundering scheme used by Russian officials has died.

The reports on November 28 said 44-year-old Aleksandr Perepilichny, a wealthy businessman who sought sanctuary in Britain three years ago, “collapsed on a Saturday two weeks ago” outside his mansion on the outskirts of London.

An unnamed British police spokeswoman was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying, “A postmortem examination was carried out which was inconclusive, so further tests are now being carried out.”

A London-based businessman and Magnitsky’s former employer, William Browder, confirmed to RFE/RL that Perepilichny was providing evidence against a network implicated in the 2009 death of Moscow lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.

Magnitsky died in pretrial detention after implicating top Russian officials in an apparent scheme to defraud the government of $230 million.

Perepilichny reportedly provided evidence that led Swiss prosecutors to open an investigation earlier this year into a number of accounts at bank Credit Suisse.

RFE RL

RFE/RL journalists report the news in 21 countries where a free press is banned by the government or not fully established.

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