Suspected hit-man with target list ‘should be questioned by British police urgently’ in Perepilichnyy case An alleged Chechen assassin linked to the suspected murder of a Russian whistleblower found dead shortly after he had given evidence […]

An alleged Chechen assassin linked to the suspected murder of a Russian whistleblower found dead shortly after he had given evidence to Swiss prosecutors implicating Russian officials and mafia figures should be questioned by British police as a “matter of urgency” following his arrest in Turkey, an inquest hearing has been told

Businessman Alexander Perepilichnyy collapsed and died outside his luxury Surrey home in November 2012 shortly after he had given evidence to Swiss prosecutors implicating individuals in a $230m (£150m) tax fraud.

Traces of chemicals

Surrey Police initially declared the death non-suspicious but traces of chemicals linked to a rare poison known to be used by professional hit-men were later found in his stomach, leading to claims that he may have been killed on the orders of Moscow.

It emerged last year that the 44-year-old investment expert’s name had been found on an apparent target list found by French investigators pursuing a suspected assassin from Chechnya, together with details of the movements of Mr Perepilichnyy and his family in Britain.

Suspected hit-man

A pre-inquest hearing was told that the suspected hit-man – Valid Lurakhmaev – has now been arrested in Turkey on an unrelated matter and it was vital for British investigators to make efforts to gain access to the 45-year-old Chechen, who is already wanted by Interpol for attempted murder and theft.

Lawyers for Hermitage Capital, the international investment firm targeted for the £150m tax fraud, told the Surrey Coroner’s Court in Woking that it was possible that Mr Lurakhmaev would be extradited to Russia and put out of the reach of British police.

Life insurance policy

Surrey Coroner Richard Travers has been asked to issue an “international letter of request” asking the Turkish authorities to allow detectives access to the Chechen. Henrietta Hill QC, for Hermitage Capital, said:”We are very concerned that this person may be handed over to the Russian authorities and taken to a place where it may well be impossible for him to be interviewed. He is a person of significance to these proceedings and we are very concerned that he is interviewed as a matter of urgency [in Turkey].”

Dijen Basu QC, for Surrey Police, questioned the basis for seeking access to the claimed hit-man, saying online media reports describing his arrest constituted “flimsy evidence” for a formal international request.

The hearing was told that Mr Lurakhmaev, who was arrested in Istanbul late last month, used an alias of Alexander Smirnov which now needed to be checked by the UK Border Agency to see whether he had entered Britain under that name around the time of Mr Perepilichnyy’s death on 10 November 2012.

Lawyers for Hermitage and an insurance company with which the Russian took out a multi-million pound life policy shortly before his death said the possibility that the Chechen or another Russian connected to the case were in Britain around that date gave renewed importance to gaining access to CCTV footage from the gated estate in Weybridge where Mr Perepilichnyy died.

A full inquest is due to take place in September.