The British-born man, known in court documents as AB, was charged by Australian Federal Police on August 31 last year.

He was released on bail and was scheduled to face court in Devonport in October.

But in the days that followed the 66-year-old small-business owner paid for his funeral and arranged a will.

AB died in a single vehicle collision on September 6, 2021.

There were no suspicious circumstances, coroner Olivia McTaggart said in findings handed down this month.

"There is no doubt his actions were significantly motivated by the charges he was facing at the time of his death," she found.

Ms McTaggart noted AB had suffered lifelong depression and had multiple strokes in or about 2016.

AB had become concerned before his death that memory loss he was experiencing was a symptom of dementia, rather than a side effect of multiple strokes, his brother told coronial investigators.

After their mother died in 2020 he became afraid about having to live in care.

Australian Associated Press