Post-mortem shows Russian tycoon died from hanging

Published March 25, 2013

Associated Press

LONDON –  British police say that a post-mortem examination has found that self-exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky's death was "consistent with hanging."

Thames Valley Police did not specify Monday whether Berezovsky hanged himself, but said that a pathologist has found nothing to indicate a violent struggle.

The 67-year-old businessman — a one-time Kremlin powerbroker who later became a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin — was found dead at his home in England on Saturday.

Police say that further tests, including toxicology examinations, will be carried out and that it could take weeks for the results to be known.

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Chinese company looking for missing tycoon

Published March 21, 2013

Associated Press

BEIJING –  A Chinese tycoon with ties to mining companies in the United States, Australia and Africa is missing and a newspaper says he has been detained by police.

Sichuan Jinlu Group said Thursday it is looking for its chairman, Liu Han, and has been unable to contact him by phone.

The newspaper Shanghai Securities News said Liu was detained in Beijing in mid-March while on a business trip.

Chinese police regularly detain people for lengthy questioning without charge or public notice.

Liu's main company, Sichuan Hanlong Group, owns a stake in General Moly, a Colorado miner of molybdenum, a mineral used to harden steel.

Hanlong also owns a stake in Australia's Sundance Resources, which is developing an iron mine in Africa, and is bidding to buy the rest of the company.

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