Patarkatsishvili died

News just in is that Badri Patarkatsishvili has died of a heart attack in London. He was only 52 .

Patarkatsishvili had recently been much under fire by the Georgian government. His TV station Imedi was raided and closed down during the November 7 disturbances in Tbilisi, and he himself was under court investigation for an alleged coup conspiracy - there appeared to be a recording of him offering a lot of money to someone (in the interior ministry?) to facilitate a coup. He was one of the candidates in the recent presidential election and came third (thank God, under the circumstances). On 25 January the Tbilisi court froze his considerable assets.

Patarkatsishvili was the richest man in Georgia, making his millions in Russia after 1991, as many other people did, too (apparently he was an Aeroflot apparatchik). At one stage he was on Russia's wanted list, too - as a mate of Boris Berizovsky's he would be, I suppose. He owned lots of property here, including a rather stunning glass building, with a helipad, above the town, and was the chair of the Georgian business federation. Wisely, he lived in the UK. Should be said, though, too that he is also well-known as a considerable philanthropist in Georgia, of which there are several, eg also the singer Paata Burchuladze.

His death removes a focus of attrition for Saakashvili, the Georgian president. Where will it leave Patarkatsishvili's property? Why does the name 'Robert Maxwell' come to mind? Though not sure if RM did philanthropy.

(Photo from BBC website)