Exiled tycoon plots Putin overthrow - News in brief - Evening Standard
       

Exiled tycoon plots Putin overthrow

Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky has claimed he is plotting the overthrow of Russian president Vladimir Putin from his base in London.

Mr Berezovsky, who has an estimated fortune of £850 million, told the Guardian that he is bankrolling people close to the president who are planning a coup.

He said: "We need to use force to change this regime.

"It isn't possible to change this regime through democratic means.

"There can be no change without force, pressure."

The newspaper reported that a Kremlin spokesman said Mr Berezovsky's comments were a crime and British authorities should not grant him asylum.

Mr Berezovsky, a former mathematician, made his fortune by buying state assets when the Russia government moved towards privatisation.

He fled Russia after the 2000 election and was granted asylum in the UK.

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