RUSSIA: A Moscow court denied bail yesterday to oil magnate Mr Mikhail Khodorkovsky and ordered him to remain in prison pending an investigation into charges of fraud and tax evasion.
The ruling was issued after a closed hearing at which Mr Khodorkovsky, former chief executive of Yukos, appeared briefly by video link.
It was the first time he had been seen in public since his dramatic arrest at gunpoint on October 25th, when he was dragged off a plane after it touched down to refuel in Siberia.
As the session opened, he smiled wryly when the judge said that the hearing, to rule whether he could be detained further or released on bail, should be closed, and ordered journalists and observers to leave.
Mr Khodorkovsky, who faces seven charges of tax evasion and massive fraud, answered questions confidently.
Rated as Russia's richest man with a personal fortune estimated at $8 billion, he was filmed behind bars in prison and confirmed his name to the court.
"I support the position of my lawyers," said Mr Khodorkovsky, whose prosecution analysts say is prompted by Kremlin worries over his political ambitions.
They say the Kremlin instigated the investigation to punish the billionaire for his political activities and strong parliamentary lobbying to frustrate moves by the Kremlin to increase taxation of oil companies.
The prosecutor general's office had already said it wanted to keep Mr Khodorkovsky in jail until December 30th, and few had expected the court to bow to the request to release him.
But Mr Robert Amsterdam, a lawyer for Mr Khodorkovsky, told reporters in Oslo: "There is no reason under the Russian criminal code to keep him in jail . . . he is a political prisoner."
Mr Chris Granville, chief strategist at Moscow-based investment bank UFG, said prosecutors had the argument that when suspects were rich and influential, "they could use their wealth and influence to suppress evidence".
Lawyers for Platon Lebedev, a close ally of Mr Khodorkovsky and a fellow Yukos shareholder who was arrested in July, have failed repeatedly to secure his release on bail.
Mr Khodorkovsky's arrest has shaken confidence among investors in Russia and triggered concerns it may signal increased state interference in business.
Yukos shares, weak all day, fell two more percentage points after the court declared the hearing closed.
