Russia finds oil tycoon guilty in second trial

A Moscow court on Monday found jailed tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky guilty in his second trial on charges of embezzlement, Russian news agencies reported.The court found Khodorkovsky and his co-accused Platon Lebedev guilty of embezzlement, the ITAR-TASS news agency reported. They had been charged with embezzling 218 million tonnes of oil.Only a handful of reporters were allowed into the courtroom for the verdict and judge Viktor Danilkin then requested even those journalists to leave as the rest of the verdict was read out.

Russian ex-tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky will receive a new jail sentence in his second trial, the judge said Thursday, adding his crimes required "isolation from society".Judge Viktor Danilkin was speaking as he appeared to be finally coming to the culmination of his verdict on Khodorkovsky and co-accused Platon Lebedev, whom he had already found guilty of money laundering and embezzlement Monday."The correction of Khodorokvsky and Lebedev is possible only by way of their isolation from society," he told the court.

A Russian court Thursday ordered ex-oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky to stay in jail until 2017, sentencing him to 14 years in a trial his defence said was influenced by strongman Vladimir Putin.Judge Viktor Danilkin issued the new sentence for Khodorkovsky and his co-accused Platon Lebedev after finding them guilty of money laundering and embezzlement in a trial that started in March 2009.

Russia brusquely told the West to keep out of its domestic affairs after "unacceptable" criticism by the United States and Europe of the new guilty verdict for jailed tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.Khodorkovsky is facing the prospect of an additional lengthy jail term after being found guilty in his second trial Monday in a verdict that provoked an angry reaction in the West. The White House said it was "deeply concerned" about the "selective application of justice". France called for the rule of law in Russia, while Germany said the verdict was a step backward.

A Moscow court is expected Monday to begin announcing the verdict in the second trial of former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a case some see as a bellwether of Russia's political future. Once the country's richest man, now its most prominent prisoner, Khodorkovsky, 47, is already serving an eight-year sentence for fraud.But with his release scheduled for next year, Khodorkovsky is now on trial on charges of money laundering and embezzlement that could see the head of the now-defunct Yukos oil giant stay in jail until 2017.

A Moscow court is expected Monday to begin announcing the verdict in the second trial of former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a case some see as a bellwether of Russia's political future. Once the country's richest man, now its most prominent prisoner, Khodorkovsky, 47, is already serving an eight-year sentence for fraud.But with his release scheduled for next year, Khodorkovsky is now on trial on charges of money laundering and embezzlement that could see the head of the now-defunct Yukos oil giant stay in jail until 2017.

A Moscow court is expected Monday to begin announcing the verdict in the second trial of former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a case some see as a bellwether of Russia's political future.Once the country's richest man, now its most prominent prisoner, Khodorkovsky, 47, is already serving an eight-year sentence for fraud.But with his release scheduled for next year, Khodorkovsky is now on trial on charges of money laundering and embezzlement that could see the head of the now-defunct Yukos oil giant stay in jail until 2017.