Russian business leaders lined up Friday to express support for billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov, who was arrested earlier this week in a criminal investigation widely seen as politically motivated.
"I relate to this as to a big tragedy. It will, of course, impact negatively on the business climate," German Gref, the head of Russia's biggest bank, state-owned Sberbank, told journalists at an investment forum in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, according to Interfax.
Yevtushenkov's arrest has been widely linked to an attempt to seize control of mid-sized oil producer Bashneft, in which the billionaire has a majority stake via his oil-to-telecoms conglomerate Sistema.
Comparisons have been drawn to the arrest of tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, whose oil company Yukos was carved up after his detention on a SIberian runway in 2003.
Before his arrest, Forbes ranked Yevtushenkov as Russia's 15th richest man, worth $9 billion. The value of his assets has since plummeted, as investors run for the hills.
But some onlookers are more sanguine: "Evtushenkov's arrest is a misunderstanding, and I think Bashneft shares will stay with Yevtushenkov," said head of oil giant LUKoil Vagit Alekperov, the Prime economic news agency reported. Bashneft and LUKoil are jointly developing the huge Trebs and Titov oil field in the Russian Arctic.
INC News, 19/09/2014
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