Gleb berezovsky

Mr Berezovsky made his fortune importing Mercedes cars into Russia in the 1990s, and setting himself up as a middleman distributing cars made by Russia's Avtovaz.

While Avtovaz struggled to survive, Mr Berezovsky nevertheless made millions.

By the mid-1990s, he was one of Russia's leading oligarchs, a word used for those who made their fortunes during the wholesale privatisation of state assets.

As well as taking ownership of the Sibneft oil company, he became the main shareholder in the country's main television channel, ORT, which he turned into a propaganda vehicle for Boris Yeltsin in the run-up to the 1996 presidential election.

He has survived numerous assassination attempts, including a bomb that decapitated his chauffeur.

He took Forbes magazine to court for describing him as the "godfather of the Kremlin" and linking him to the murder of a popular television journalist.

Forbes settled out of court, accepting that th