A three-week inquest into the death of a Russian businessman found collapsed outside his home in Weybridge has been postponed.

The long-awaited inquest for Alexander Peripilichnyy was scheduled to start this morning, but has been moved to March 13.

Mr Perepilichnyy, 44, died after he was found seriously ill outside his Weybridge home in St George's Hill on November 10, 2012.

His death sparked allegations of a “reprisal killing” after it emerged he had helped Swiss authorities in a major corruption investigation relating to an alleged multi-million-dollar fraud.

He was then publicly named as the source that led to the Swiss criminal proceedings.

Mr Perepilichnyy had fled to Britain three years before his death after an alleged falling out with a Moscow crime syndicate.

He had also testified against people linked to the 2009 death of anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.

Mr Perepilichnyy was the fourth person linked to that case to have died in strange circumstances.

Suspicions of murder strengthened after it was revealed at a previous hearing that a rare Chinese plant toxin, gelsemium, had been found in his stomach.

Woking Coroner’s Court did not give details as to why the inquest was postponed.