Russian tycoon fights arrest plan

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Lawyers for Russian billionaire Mikhail Gutseriyev are seeking to overturn a warrant for his arrest on charges of tax evasion.

He has suggested the charges are an attempt to force him to part with his oil company Russneft, which is now in the process of being sold.

Mr Gutseriyev's whereabouts are unknown and a Moscow court issued a warrant for his arrest in his absence.

He is accused of tax evasion and doing business illegally.

Another Yukos?

Mr Gutseriyev said last month he had agreed to sell his company after being subjected to "unprecedented persecution" by the Russian authorities.

The sale is now being negotiated with a company belonging to Oleg Deripaska - a tycoon on good terms with the Kremlin.

Russneft produces about 17 million tons of crude oil a year and employs 20,000 staff.

Some observers have suggested that there are similarities between Mr Gutseriyev's case and that of Yukos, which used to be Russia's largest oil firm.

Its founder, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, is serving a jail sentence for fraud and tax evasion - charges he insists were aimed at thwarting his political ambitions.

Mr Gutseriyev has long been a successful entrepreneur, but has never appeared to have any plans to get involved in politics.

Some Moscow media reports place him in Azerbaijan while others suggest he is in London.

If the latter proved to be true, his presence could put further pressure on already strained British-Russian relations.