Police probe as Georgia’s richest man dies suddenly

POLICE are investigating the “suspicious” sudden death in Britain of a billionaire Georgian businessman linked to leading Russian dissidents.

Badri Patarkatsishvili, 52, was found dead at his country mansion outside Leatherhead, Surrey, at about 11pm on Tuesday night.

His family said he suffered a heart attack, but Surrey Police launched an investigation to confirm the exact cause of death.

Mr Patarkatsishvili — Georgia’s richest man, with an estimated £6 billion (€8bn) fortune — spoke recently of his fears for his life after an alleged plot to murder him in London was uncovered.

One reported assassination plan bore chilling similarities to the killing of ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko in 2006.

Mr Patarkatsishvili was a long-time business partner of Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky, an outspoken Kremlin critic who now lives in exile in London.

Mr Berezovsky reported that the Georgian billionaire was not ill but had complained about his heart when he saw him on Tuesday.

A police spokeswoman said: “Police were called to an address in Leatherhead late yesterday evening following the collapse and death of Georgian businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili, believed to be 52 years of age. As with all unexplained deaths, it is being treated as suspicious.

Mr Patarkatsishvili’s home, Downside Manor, is located in a leafy road in the countryside outside Leatherhead and is reported to be worth £10m. Police cordoned off the property and were not letting anyone get close to it today.

Mr Patarkatsishvili helped to finance the “rose revolution” that swept President Mikhail Saakashvili to power in Georgia in 2003, but subsequently fell out with him.

Mr Patarkatsishvili — who founded opposition TV channel Imedi in 2002 – backed mass street protests against the government in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, in November.