Self-exiled Georgian tycoon and political activist Badri Patarkatsishvili, who died in London on February 12, was buried in his native country on Thursday, according to dpa. Patarkatsishvili, 52, died at his mansion in Leatherhead, south of London. His body was flown back to the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Tuesday. Famed as Georgia's richest man, Patarkatsishvili made his fortune in Russia during the privatization of state industries in the 1990s in partnership with fellow London-based billionaires Boris Berezovsky and Roman Abramovich, who were both rumoured to be attending the funeral. While Abramovich has remained close to the Kremlin, Russia has demanded Britain extradite Berezovsky to face eleven criminal charges pending against him. Berezovsky said Tuesday he had applied for an urgent visa to the Georgian consulate in London to attend "his close friend's" funeral. He said he received a reply that the application was being considered, but as a British passport holder Berezovsky would not need a visa to travel to Georgia. Andrei Lugovoi, a State Duma deputy who is wanted in Britain on suspicion of murdering ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko, once headed Berezovsky's private security service and was listed among those whom Partarkatsishvili's team thought would be attending the funeral. However, Lugovoi chose not to attend "fearing he could be extradited to Britain," according to Ria-Novosti news agency. Litvinenko was also an associate of Berezovsky and together both were vocal critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin. About one thousand people attended the burial at Partarkatsishvili's palace residence in Tbilisi and the proceedings were being well guarded from the press. Several well-known foreign figures, including US Senator Hillary Clinton's brothers Tony and Hugh Rodham, were reported to be paying their respects to the departed opposition leader. But the press service of Israeli President Shimon Peres contradicted earlier reports that he would travel to the funeral, Ria-Novosti said Thursday. Patarkatsishvili fled to Israel and then Britain after being one of the main leaders of mass anti-government protests in December. He was later charged with plotting a coup against Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. A British investigatory inquest into his death found that he died of a sudden heart attack linked to a longer term disorder. Georgian media reported that Patarkatsishvili left 12 million dollars to his wife and two daughters. He came third in January 5 presidential polls in post-Soviet Georgia on promises to use his personal wealth to fund social programmes.
