Mafia Whistle-blower Found Dead In The UK

A Russian businessman reportedly helping Swiss investigators uncover a huge mafia fraud was found dead under strange circumstances near his mansion in Britain.

Alexander Perepilichny, 44, came to the UK three years ago and had since been providing information to Swiss prosecutors to crack down on a Russian money-laundering scheme, his colleagues and media reports said, according to Reuters.

Perepilichny is the fourth person linked to the 2009 Sergei Magnitsky case, where the anti-corruption lawyer mysteriously died, causing a national outcry and thus prompting the US to enforce a bill against Russian corruption. This month the U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to "name and shame" Russian rights violators as part of a broader trade bill, despite warnings that it would damage relations.

Locals near Perepilichny's estate said they found him dressed in running gear at the top of a dark hill. "It is being treated as unexplained," a police spokeswoman said. "A post-mortem examination was carried out which was inconclusive. So further tests are now being carried out."