Russian Businessman Says 'Putin Is in Trouble'

LONDON, July 18, 2007 — -- Kremlin opponent and exiled businessman Boris Berezovsky revealed Wednesday that Scotland Yard had warned him last month about an assassination attempt on his life.

Scotland Yard would neither confirm nor refute his claims.

During a press conference in London, Berezovsky alleged that on June 16 Scotland Yard had alerted him about a plot to murder him and advised him to leave the country for a week until the threat was resolved.

Scotland Yard would say only that "on the 21st of June, a man was arrested in central London on suspicion of conspiracy to murder." The man was "later released on the 23rd of June without charge into the custody of the Immigration Service."

Speaking to ABC News, a Scotland Yard spokesman refused to confirm if this arrest was connected to Berezovsky's allegations.

The Russian billionaire said that the suspect was eventually deported to Russia, but when ABC News contacted the Home Office, its spokesperson refused to comment on the matter.

This is the latest in a long string of accusations leveled by Berezovsky against the Kremlin.

Last year, following the suspicious death of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, Berezovsky openly accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of personal involvement in the ex-spy's murder.

On his deathbed, Litvinenko himself blamed Putin for his death by poisoning from the radioactive substance polonium-210.

Wednesday, in an interview with ABC News, Berezovsky described himself as "maybe the most important witness of Litvinenko's murder," adding that those "who killed Litvinenko got [the] order from Putin. Yes, Putin organized this murder."

Discussing his own brush with a possible assassination attempt, the Russian billionaire told ABC News that he was informed three months ago that "someone from Russia" would try to kill him.

The alleged murderer would "do it absolutely openly," Berezovsky said, adding that the plan was to "present this story as a business story, that we argued [over money]."

"I didn't pay too much attention to that, but I informed Scotland Yard," Berezovsky said.