There is currently no evidence to suggest anyone else was involved in the death of Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, police said yesterday.
The 67-year-old businessman was found dead at his Berkshire home on Saturday by a bodyguard, and specialist officers in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear substances examined the property yesterday before giving the all clear.
Detective Chief Inspector Kevin Brown, of Thames Valley Police, said: “It would be wrong to speculate on the cause of death until the postmortem has been carried out.
“We do not have any evidence at this stage to suggest third party involvement.”
Berezovsky, who last year lost a multi-billion-pound High Court battle with Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich, was reportedly found dead in his bathroom after taking his own life.
On leaving the property, the paramedic who declared him dead at the scene had their radiation detector triggered, prompting the CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) experts to examine Berezovsky’s country pile, police said.
But yesterday morning they confirmed the home at Titness Park, Mill Lane, Ascot, was safe to work in. The paramedic’s detector, a personal electronic dosimeter (PED), is a health and safety device used routinely by emergency services.
“An employee” of Berezovsky, believed to be the bodyguard, had called for the ambulance shortly after 3pm on Saturday after forcing open a bathroom door and finding the oligarch dead on the floor.
The employee had not seen Berezovsky since 10.30pm on Friday night and had become concerned for his welfare.
Scenes of crime officers are currently carrying out a full forensic examination of the scene and yesterday a forensic investigation unit vehicle could be seen passing through police cordons around Berezovsky’s estate.
A Home Office postmortem examination will be carried out but police said it was unlikely to be yesterday. Brown continued to call the death “unexplained”.
“We are at the early stages of the investigation and we are retaining an open mind as we progress,” he said.
It is thought that Berezovsky was having serious financial difficulties after paying out astronomical sums in legal fees over the past few years, and wanted to return to Russia.
The oligarch could have run up over £100 million in legal bills since 2011.