One of Russia's best-known spammers has been found beaten to death in his apartment in central Moscow, according to police reports.

Moscow's Public Prosecutions Office said that an unnamed person had found Vardan Kushnir about 35 minutes after he had received severe head injuries.

The Petersburg Times reported that the killer had rifled through Kushnir's possessions, leaving the apartment in disarray. A number of valuable items had been stolen.

Personal belongings were scattered around the scene of the crime and "the atmosphere of the room was disturbed", according to the newspaper.

Police are examining video footage captured by a security camera pointed at the courtyard of the building where Kushnir lived.

Kushnir is alleged to have sent millions of unsolicited emails offering English classes at the American Language Center run by his company. The emails were rumoured to have hit every PC in the country at least once.