This post is part of a feature in which he wonder whatever happened to some notorious financial felons. See all 17.

Boris Abramovich Berezovsky, Russia's first billionaire, now lives in exile in London. "I am really thinking of returning to Russia after Putin collapses," Berezovsky told the BBC earlier this year.

Former mathematician turned media tycoon, Berezovsky was one of the first Russian oligarchs, as well as a member President Boris Yeltsin's inner circle, or "family," in the 1990s. He even served as deputy secretary of Russia's security council and was also a member of the State Duma. He helped introduce Vladimir Putin to the "family," only to have Putin turn around and try to curb the political ambitions of Russia's oligarchs, including wresting control of the country's main television channel, ORT, from Berezovsky. After Putin became the Russian president, Berezovsky fled to the United Kingdom to escape charges of defrauding the government, where he was granted political asylum. In 2007, a Moscow court convicted Berezovsky of embezzlement in absentia and sentenced him to six years in jail.

The U.K. has denied all attempts to extradite Berezovsky, who continues to be a vocal critic of Putin and his administration. He has publicly stated his mission to bring down Putin, and has antagonized his opponent by traveling to Georgia in 2003 and Latvia in 2005, as well as investing in and public ally supporting a business run by Neil Bush, the younger brother of U.S. President George W. Bush.

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Financial Felons: Boris Berezovsky originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.