'Poisoned' Russian whistleblower not in fear for his life, says widow

Before his death, Mr Perepilichnyy had been helping specialist investment firm Hermitage Capital Management uncover a 230 million US dollar (£150 million) Russian money-laundering operation.

The court heard around the time his name appeared on a "hit list" in Moscow and he had taken out million of pounds in life insurance policies.

An inquest, sitting at the Old Bailey, will look at whether he was poisoned and who might have had a motive to murder him, even though his death was initially put down to natural causes.

Giving evidence behind a screen, his widow Tatiana Perepilichnaya denied her husband fell out with an "organised crime syndicate" in Russia or that he moved to England because he owed people a lot of money.

The mother-of-two said the family only moved to the UK for their children's education and because she liked the culture.

She said: "I liked England very much. People have a different relationship. Even if you take a situation in a shop and supermarket people are kind, polite and smile at you. I always felt at home in London."

Peter Skelton QC, counsel for the coroner, asked: "Did Alexander mention he lost a large amount of money to people in Russia he had invested for them?"

Mrs Perepilichnaya replied: "No."

Asked if she or her husband feared for their safety, she said: "In 20 years of marriage Alexander never had bodyguard or security, so our life in Russia and our life in England never varied. It's the same.

"I know if there were any threats or problems Alexander would have told me."

In the weeks before his death her "workaholic" husband had lost a lot of weight through a "very strict diet", she said.

She said: "I thought it was very unhealthy when somebody loses weight that quickly.

"He never had so many wrinkles on his face but from his point of view he could fit into suits and he was very happy about that."

But he never complained about feeling unwell, or mentioned having unexpected contact with anyone or eating anything that tasted strange, she said.

On the day of his death, his wife texted him about the sorrel soup she was planning to make as he returned from a trip to Paris.

On his arrival, he described the French capital as "very grey and gloomy" and made a plan with his daughter to go with her to get a computer later.

Mrs Perepilichnaya told how she made sorrel soup with her daughter with a boiled chicken fillet, onions and carrots.

She said: "First you boil chicken fillet in order to make a stock. In the stock you add a slightly fried onion and carrots and then you add the sorrel - it's a type of spinach."

Sorrel was available fresh in Russia and Ukraine but in the UK she bought it in jars from Sainsbury's, Tesco or a Russian shop, she said.

Mrs Perepilichnaya said she and her daughter both tasted the soup as they cooked it and finished it later that day.

In the wake of her husband's death, Mrs Perepilichnaya allegedly claimed he had been concerned their safety was jeopardised when their home address was logged on the police computer system in 2011.

The inquest also heard her husband received a threatening text in June 2011, saying: "Alexander you will go to prison really seriously for long. I can do that. If you want to live free and happily you have to pay 300,000 rubles (£6,000)."

But Mrs Perepilichnaya played down the message and disputed the police record of her conservation with officers.

She also denied hearing through family in Russia that her husband's name was on a "hit list" found by police in a Moscow apartment in 2011.

But she accepted her husband had been in contact with Hermitage about an allegation of fraud as well as the Swiss authorities.

Mr Skelton asked if she discussed with her brother Rishat whether her husband's involvement in the Hermitage issue may have put his safety at risk and led to his death.

Mrs Perepilichnaya said her brother told her there were no threats to her husband.

Asked what she knew of the fraud allegations at the time, she said: "I only have time to do house chores."

The inquest heard Mr Perepilichnyy took out £3.5 million in insurance policies with three companies between May and July 2012 and applied for a further £5 million.

On why her husband took out multiple policies, Mrs Perepilichnaya said it was to do with plans to buy a £7.8m home in England.

Mr Skelton asked: "Do you think your husband was murdered?"

She replied: "No."

Robert Moxon Browne QC, for insurer Legal and General, pressed Mrs Perepilichnaya on what she knew about her husband's business dealings.

He suggested that by the time the family moved to England in 2010, one of his firms was facing tax evasion accusations in Russia.

In August that year, he went to Hermitage with banking documents which allegedly demonstrated money-laundering activity, the inquest heard.

But Mrs Perepilichnaya said: "I didn't know anything about Hermitage. I didn't even know the name of the company."

By the autumn of 2011, the witness's brother was having trouble with Russian authorities over his affairs, which were bound up with her husband's, it was alleged.

Mr Moxon Browne said a Skype message between the pair could be interpreted as the deceased trying to find out how much "gratitude" needed to be paid to relieve the pressure.

The witness said she knew nothing about it.

Earlier, Mr Skelton outlined the central questions for the inquest: Did Mr Perepilichnyy die of natural causes? Was he poisoned? Is it possible to say how on the balance of probability he died?

He said requests had since been made to Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson for any information held by security services on any "threats to personal safety or life" to the deceased and any "third party involvement" in the death and any connection between Mr Perepilichnyy and "five named individuals".

He said the Government had responded to the coroner but applied to keep some "sensitive" information out of the public domain.