UK won't hand over Russian tycoon

Berezovsky was granted political asylum in the UK in 2003

A British court has rejected a Russian request to extradite the UK-based tycoon Boris Berezovsky, a critic of President Vladimir Putin.

Mr Berezovsky, 59, was granted asylum in the UK three years ago and has a fortune estimated at £800m ($1.4bn).

Judge Timothy Workman ruled that as Mr Berezovsky already had political asylum it would be a waste of British taxpayers' money to pursue the case.

In March, Russia accused the tycoon of plotting to overthrow Mr Putin.

At the time the then UK Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, warned Mr Berezovsky that his refugee status could be reviewed, in light of his call to oust the Russian president.

Using London as his base Mr Berezovsky has actively supported pro-democracy groups opposed to Mr Putin.

A mathematician turned billionaire businessman, he was a key power-broker in the administration of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin and helped Vladimir Putin's rise to power.

However, he was one of the first targets of Mr Putin's crackdown on the Russian oligarchs, and went into self-imposed exile abroad at the end of 2000.