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In what has been described as a "desperate step", controversial US-based buisnessman Joseph Kay, who has claimed to be the executor of the will of Badri Patarkatsishvili (pictured) has now accused the late billionaire's widow of having him murdered in a new law suit filed in New York.

Patarkatsishvili died two years ago today, in exile in Surrey, England. He had fled Georgia after being accused of plotting a coup against Mikheil Saakashvili.

Patarkatsishvili was the owner of the Imedi TV station which was stormed by special forces on 7 November 2007. On his death Kay announced that Patarkatsishvili, whom he claimed was a relative (the claim is disputed), had given him control of Imedi.

Kay last year then said - in a statement subsequently underlined by Mikheil Saakashvili's own office - that he had sold 90% of Imedi to the sovereign wealth fund of the Gulf emirate Rah Al-Khaimah.

But Patarkatsishvili's family never accepted Kay's claims and two weeks ago announced a major victory over him which has quickly led to the unravelling of much of Kay's claims and seen the stain of corruption spread into the President's office. In particular the authorities in Ras Al-Khaimah have chosen to claim that they did not buy Imedi - effectively exposing the president to the claim of having lied about a major business deal for reasons of political convenience.

Now Kay has apparently decided to hit back by, reports InterPressNews, accusing Patarkatsishvili's widow, Inna Gudavadze, and 55 others (including Boris Berezovsky, once an enemy of Saakashvili but now a close ally once more), of murdering Badri (his death has already been investigated in the UK where a coroner's court heard he died as a result of severe natural heart disease) and therefore causing Kay emotional trauma and financial loss.

The family have issued a statement dismissing Kay's latest claims: "We want to declare aloud that Joseph Key stole assets and money of our family. We will continue a legal fight against him until justice is achieved."

We are still searching for information about the mysterious "Mark Monem" who Kay said represented the RAK Invesment Authority when he announced the sale of Imedi. Please look here for more details.