The family of dead billionaire Badri Patarkatsishvili are awaiting the end of police investigations before they take his body back to Georgia.

In a statement released by Surrey Police, the family say they "have lost our son, husband and father - our dearest person of all".

"We greatly appreciate the kind-hearted words about Badri Patarkatsishvili that the head of the Georgian Church has said.

"We know that Badri heard him. We are grateful to all who share our sorrows.

"We fully rely on the competence and professionalism of Surrey Police and all the partner agencies involved.

"Shortly after we receive the outcome of their investigation into the cause of death, we will bring Badri back to his native country and bury him in Georgia."

Mr Patarkatsishvili collapsed and died in front of his wife at their £10million Leatherhead mansion at 11pm on Tuesday.

A postmortem examination on the billionaire - who had feared he had been targeted for assassination by the Georgian Government - showed he died of heart failure.

The scene was reportedly tested for radioactivity but investigators found no evidence of radioactive materials being involved in Mr Patarkasishvili's death.

Mr Patarkatsishvili had led and paid for an opposition campaign against Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili.

In January Mr Patarkatsishvili ran against Saakashvili in a snap election - which opposition groups allege was rigged - and gained around seven per cent of the vote.

In December Mr Patarkatsishvili had told Associated Press he had a recording of a Georgian interior ministry official asking a Chechen warlord to murder him.