Nikolai Glushkov: Putin critic 'strangled in London home by third party'

A Russian exile was strangled in his own home by a third party, a coroner has ruled.

Businessman Nikolai Glushkov, who was critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was found dead in New Malden in south-west London in March 2018.

West London Coroner's Court heard there was evidence to suggest his death was made to look like a suicide and there had been "third-party involvement".

Senior coroner Chinyere Inyama ruled that Mr Glushkov was unlawfully killed.

Mr Glushkov fled Russia after being accused of fraud during his time as deputy director of the Aeroflot airline, and was granted political asylum in the UK in 2010.

In 2017, during a trial in absentia, he was sentenced to eight years by a Russian court after being convicted of stealing £87m from the airline.

Mr Glushkov, 68, had been due to attend the Commercial Court in London to defend himself on 12 March, the day his body was discovered by his daughter, Natalia.