17 June 2004 21:15
World NEWS: RUSSIA
The country's richest man,billionaire MikhailKhodorkovsky, went on trial in Moscow yesterday in a case that will
delve into the murky privatisation process that accompanied the dismantling of the Soviet Union.
The former boss of the Yukos oil conglomerate and another major shareholder, Platon Lebedev, sat inside a metal cage
chatting to each other.
Khodorkovsky exchanged glances with his elderly parents,Marina and Boris, who sat a few feet away and sometimes gave
them a comforting smile.
The businessmen face charges of fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion in connection with the 1994 privatisation of a
big, state- owned fertiliser plant. Both could face about 10 years in prison if convicted.
Judge Irina Kolesnikova agreed to a defence request to hear only procedural issues until Khodorkovsky's main
lawyer,Genrikh Padva, recovers from eye surgery -probably next Monday.
[Daily Post (Liverpool)] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
