The three-judge court had been due to hand down its decision in the ten-month high-profile trial of the former head of oil major YUKOS, but abruptly announced the hearing had been put off until mid-May.
A Russian court put off a verdict in the trial of YUKOS oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky, sparing President Vladimir Putin embarrassment when he meets world leaders next month.
A notice posted at the court house said it had been put off until May 16th.
There was no explanation for the postponement and several hours later lawyers representing Mr Khodorkovsky and co-defendant Platon Lebedev had still not been officially informed.
Defence lawyers and political critics said the Kremlin may have ordered the decision to postpone the trial to spare Mr Putin awkward questions when he meets US President George W. Bush and other world leaders at World War Two victory celebrations in Moscow on May 9th.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said this month in Moscow that Washington was watching the trial closely for signs of what it showed about the rule of law in Mr Putin's Russia.
Mr Putin was in the Middle East today at the start of visits to Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian territories. There was no comment from the Kremlin on the latest developments.
Prosecutors have asked for the maximum 10-year jail term to be handed to billionaire Mr Khodorkovsky (41), who is charged with fraud and tax evasion.
His YUKOS oil firm has since been crushed under the weight of a $27.5 billion back-tax bill.
Mr Khodorkovsky's lawyers say their client is innocent but are resigned to a guilty verdict, which they say has already been dictated by the Kremlin though officials there deny unduly influencing proceedings.