Khodorkovsky put on international wanted list
The former owner of now defunct Russian Yukos oil company, top Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, has been placed under arrest in absentia and put on the international wanted list, Russian investigators said on Wednesday. "Mikhail Khodorkovsky has been put on the international wanted list," spokesman for the government's Investigative Committee Vladimir Markin said in a statement. Last week it was announced that Khodorkovsky, the exiled tycoon, is accused of several killings. Earlier in December, Mikhail Khodorkovsky had been charged in absentia in organizing the murder of Nefteyugansk Mayor Vladimir Petukhov in 1998. Moreover, Khodorkovsky was charged for the attempted murder of Petukhov’s companion Vyacheslav Kokoshkin as well as attempted murder of the executive director of the East Petroleum Handelsgez company, Vyacheslav Rybin. Arrested on October 25, 2003, Khodorkovsky, once Russia’s richest man, spent 10 years in prison for fraud and tax evasion before being pardoned. Following his release, he was issued a three-month Schengen visa by Switzerland, and later a residence permit. Since his 2013 release, Khodorkovsky has continued to oppose the Kremlin from exile in Switzerland.
