RUSSIA: Russia is planning further trials of high-profile business tycoons following last week's conviction of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, state prosecutors have announced.
In what appears to be the opening shot in a turbulent summer for Moscow's business community and foreign investors, deputy prosecutor general Vladimir Kolesnikov said: "The (Khodorkovsky) case will not be the last." In the most controversial Russian court case of modern times, Khodorkovsky, once the country's richest man, was jailed for nine years for tax evasion and fraud last Monday.
Khodorkovsky's supporters insist the charges and verdict were politically motivated as part of a personal spat between the tycoon and the Kremlin.
Amnesty International and the European Union both criticised the trial process as flawed and the oil baron's lawyers say they will take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
Prosecutors have already promised fresh charges against Khodorkovsky, even as he appeals against last week's verdict. "We have more files in store," said Mr Kolesnikov on Russia's NTV channel.
An early target may well be former reform champion Anatoly Chubais, head of the national energy company UES, after an astonishing televised tongue-lashing over the weekend from President Vladimir Putin.
Criticising the UES subsidiary Mosenergo, blamed for last week's Moscow blackout, Mr Putin told Mr Chubais: "I would like to draw the attention of the Prime Minister to the cynicism and obvious professional unsuitability of the leadership of Mosenegro." Mr Putin also demanded a probe into UES taxes: such an investigation was at the heart of the Khodorkovsky prosecution, ending with his company, Yukos, being hit with a $27 billion (€21.9 billion) back-tax bill.
Mr Chubais enjoys considerable personal control in UES, a state-owned power monopoly, and some observers think the Kremlin may be trying to regain the helm of the energy giant.
Whether this improves an already jittery foreign investor climate remains to be seen. "They have already begun on Chubais, without the rule of law there is no cover," said Khodorkovsky's Canadian lawyer, Robert Amsterdam.
The prosecution statement is at odds with comments last week from Finance Minister, Alexei Kudrin, who said the Khodorkovsky trial had damaged Russia's image. However, prosecutors appear to have the ear of the Kremlin and are known for their boldness. Earlier this year a state visit by Ukraine's Prime Minister, Julia Timoshenko, was scrubbed at the last minute after prosecutors announced that they had put her on their wanted list in a fraud investigation.