Russian roulette

26 October 2003

By locking up the country s richest man, Putin has declared open war on the oligarchs. Robber baron capitalism was never attractive. But the risk is that the crackdown will lead back to a police state.

This content is for Subscribers only

Context News

Russia's richest man, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, has been detained in a Moscow prison and faces charges of fraud and tax evasion.

Yukos, the Russian oil company controlled by Khodorkovsky, condemned the charges as "absurd".

Khodorkovsky, who had supported President Putin's rivals ahead of elections, was arrested on Saturday at an airfield in Siberia by armed police and flown to Moscow. Prosecutors said he had failed to answer a summons the previous day.

Khodorkovsky was charged on seven counts of fraud and tax evasion. Some accusations focus on the 1994 selloff of a fertiliser firm in connection with which a business associate of Khodorkovsky, Platon Lebedev, already faces charges. Prosecutors say the state suffered more than $1bn in losses.

Khodorkovsky has been refused bail.

Context News

Email a friend

Please complete the form below.

Required fields *