Russian whistleblower’s sudden death in Surrey ‘needs to be reopened’ in the wake of revelations around Navalny’s frog poison death, friends say
British authorities are facing calls to reopen the investigation into the sudden death of the Russian whistleblower more than a decade ago.
Businessman Alexander Perepilichny, who exposed organized crime and corruption in Russia, died in 2012 after collapsing while jogging near his home in Weybridge, Surrey.
An inquest six years later revealed that the 44-year-old died of natural causes, but it was stated that he may have been poisoned after experiencing symptoms of vomiting.
Although police ruled out foul play at the time, traces of a chemical that can be found in the extremely rare poisonous plant sesmium elegans were later discovered in his stomach.
Finance company Hermitage Capital Management claimed at the time that he may have been killed deliberately because he helped uncover a multi-million pound fraud involving Russian officials.
But the coroner pointed the finger at Surrey Police for a series of errors that led to a lack of evidence.
On Saturday, Britain, along with Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and France, accused the Russian state of killing 47-year-old Navalny in the Siberian colony.
Navalny was sentenced to 19 years in prison on suspected embezzlement charges. His death was announced by the Russian state on February 16, 2024. At the time, his allies accused the Kremlin of killing him because of the political threat he posed.
British authorities are facing calls to reopen an investigation into the sudden death of Russian whistleblower Alexander Perepilichny amid fears he died from a poison similar to the one that killed Alexei Navalny more than a decade ago.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s widow said on Sunday night that Vladimir Putin ‘must be held responsible’ after it emerged her husband was killed with frog poison
The five countries said in a joint statement that laboratory analyzes found traces of epibatidine, a toxin associated with South American dart frogs, in Navalny’s body.
Bill Browder, who helped uncover Perepilichny’s $230 million (£142 million) money laundering operation in Russia, said he was struck by the similarities between the two deaths.
He told The Telegraph: ‘We were trying to establish what kind of poison was used on Alexander Perepilichny in 2012 and there are many similarities with this new information on the Navalny poisoning.
‘It is a shame that law enforcement in Surrey were so quick to conclude that this was not a suspicious death. [did] Do not hide evidence.
‘In light of this new evidence in the Navalny case and all the suspicious circumstances surrounding Alexander’s death… I hope that the UK will reopen the case it had so negligently closed for “absence of guilt”.’
The inquest in 2018 heard police lost or ignored evidence that could have led to a different conclusion, including the contents of Perepilichny’s stomach.
Surrey Police also failed to check CCTV in the area where Perepilichny collapsed.
Epibatidine is found in nature only in the skin of the Ecuadorian arrow frog and if ingested, it results in painful paralysis and death from respiratory arrest. It can also be produced synthetically.
Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, said on Sunday night that Vladimir Putin ‘must be held responsible’.
He thanked Britain and its allies for revealing that his death two years ago was likely caused by a neurotoxin.
