Russian state prosecutors, opening their case against oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky, accused him on Thursday of leading a criminal group that plotted to acquire shares in privatised companies fraudulently.
The charge, in an indictment against Khodorkovsky's co-defendant Platon Lebedev, marked the start of the state's case against the former chief executive of oil giant Yukos who is on trial for fraud and tax evasion.
The legal pursuit of Khodorkovsky has been accompanied by investigation of Yukos which may face bankruptcy if it fails to pay billions of dollars in tax arrears.
A justice ministry official was on Thursday quoted as saying Yukos had begun to pay back part of the $3.4 billion it owes for 2000.
Khodorkovsky pleads not guilty to fraud
Russian oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky pleaded not guilty to charges including fraud and tax evasion in a Moscow court on Thursday.
"I plead not guilty to all the points on which I have been charged," Khodorkovsky told the court.
His co-defendant Platon Lebedev, like him a key shareholder in oil giant Yukos, also entered a not guilty plea.
Lebedev and Khodorkovsky face 11 charges on seven articles of the Russian criminal code. If found guilty, each of them could get up to 10 years in prison.
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