Mr. Curtis' helicopter, en route from Battersea heliport in London, crashed near Bournemouth airport on Wednesday night. Mr. Curtis and another passenger on board the Augusta 109 helicopter died.

According to the BBC, the British authorities started an investigation into the incident. Firefighters found the aircraft engulfed in flames. The helicopter was totally destroyed, and it was impossible to rescue passengers. An eyewitness said he had heard a kind of thump noise, which was followed by another couple of bangs.

Steven Curtis replaced Platon Lebedev as Managing Director of MENATEP after Mr. Lebedev was arrested in July, 2003, on suspicion of stealing a 20 percent stake in the company Apatit in 1994. The stake, worth about $283.142m, was owned by the government. He is also accused of fraud and non-compliance with a court judgment.

Steven Curtis was a partner in Curtis & Co, and he helped set up the MENATEP group in 1997.