Boris Berezovsky | Anti-Putin tycoon, 67

Boris Berezovsky, 67, a self-exiled and outspoken former Russian oligarch who had a bitter falling out with Russian President Vladimir Putin, was found dead Saturday in southeast England.

Thames Valley police said his death was being treated as unexplained.

A mathematician-turned-Mercedes dealer, Mr. Berezovsky amassed his wealth during Russia's chaotic privatization 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.

But the one-time Kremlin powerbroker fell out with Putin and sought political asylum in Britain in the early 2000s. He has lived there ever since.

Last year, the exiled businessman was ordered to pay 35 million pounds ($53.3 million) in legal costs to fellow Russian Roman Abramovich after losing a multimillion-dollar legal battle against the billionaire owner of Chelsea Football Club.

Mr. Berezovsky had claimed that Abramovich cheated him out of his stakes in the oil group Sibneft, arguing that he blackmailed him into selling the stakes vastly beneath their true worth after he lost Putin's good graces.

But a judge threw out the case in August, ruling that Mr. Berezovsky was a dishonest and unreliable witness.

Last week, the Times of London reported that Mr. Berezovsky was selling property to settle his debts and pay expenses owed to lawyers. - AP