Politics 'part of' tycoon's trial

A senior Russian government minister has told the BBC that political reasons have played a role in the prosecution of the country's wealthiest man.

Oil billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky is charged with tax evasion and fraud. His trial will restart on 12 July.

Mr Khodorkovsky had been funding political groups opposed to Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

The case has disturbed foreign investors worried about the state's interference in the legal process.

The Russian government has now admitted what many of its critics have long been alleging.

'Easy target'

The economy minister, German Gref, told the BBC the case against Mr Khodorkovsky had "a certain political element".

He said Mr Khodorkovsky's company Yukos had been involved in political activities.

The minister indicated he saw this as disloyal to Mr Putin and that Mr Khodorkovsky had then made himself an easy target by allegedly trying to evade taxes and to commit fraud.

Mr Khodorkovsky, who is estimated to be worth about $15bn, made his money in the 1990s by buying up oil reserves and other assets sold off by the Russian state after the collapse of Communism.

Many foreign investors are watching the trial closely, worried it may be the start of a campaign by the government to renationalise assets, some of them foreign-owned, which it believes were given away far too cheaply.

HERE