Family to split tycoon's estate

Mr Patarkatsishvili had expressed fears that he would be assassinated

The estate of Georgian billionaire Badri Patarkatsishvili will be split in half between his wife and other family members, a spokesman has said.

Mr Patarkatsishvili, 52, died of natural causes at his mansion in Leatherhead, Surrey, on 12 February.

The tycoon had gone into self-imposed exile after he was charged in 2007 with plotting a coup in his native country.

A family spokesman said 50% of his fortune will go to his wife and the remainder to his children and mother.

In a statement, the family said they had been given permission to fly his body out of the UK.

Natural causes

"Despite the ongoing investigation into the cause of Badri's death, the family can repatriate him home," they said.

Mr Patarkatsishvili's wife Ina, in her late 40s, and two daughters, in their 20s, also plan to return to Georgia.

The tycoon - who made his fortune from the privatisation of Georgian state assets during the 1990s - was one of Georgia's richest and most controversial men.

There had been fears the UK had been the scene of a similar case to that of the murder of former Russian KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko in November 2006.

Shortly before his death, Mr Patarkatsishvili spoke of his fears for his life after an alleged plot to murder him in London was uncovered, and one reported plan bore similarities to the murder of Mr Litvinenko.

But post-mortem tests indicated he died of natural causes.

The opening of an inquest later heard he was suffering from severe heart disease.