UPDATE 2-Russian tycoon Berezovsky died by hanging -police

Mon Mar 25, 2013 8:40pm EDT

* Police say death due to hanging, no sign of struggle

* Associates had hinted at depression after court loss

* Berezovsky was once major Russian power broker (Adds background, details)

By Maria Golovnina

LONDON, March 25 (Reuters) – Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, whose body was found in the locked bathroom of his luxury mansion near London over the weekend, died by hanging, British police said on Monday.

An autopsy showed no signs of a violent struggle but further tests would be carried out, including toxicology and histology examinations, police said.

Once known as the grey cardinal of Kremlin politics, the former billionaire power broker helped Vladimir Putin come to power before fleeing in 2000 for Britain where he became one of the fiercest critics of Russia’s new elite.

The 67-year-old Berezovsky’s body was found in his sprawling property in Ascot, an affluent town a few miles (kilometres) from Queen Elizabeth’s Windsor Castle, on Saturday.

His associates had hinted Berezovsky might have killed himself because he had been severely depressed after losing a bruising $6 billion court battle last year against another Russian tycoon, Roman Abramovich.

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