Moscow City Court rules new investigation in Yukos case illegal

Moscow City Court has ruled that any new investigation held in the Chita region into the former head of the Yukos oil company, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and his ex-business partner, Platon Lebedev, would be illegal.

The Court has turned down an appeal by the Prosecutor General's Office.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the former head of the Menatep Group, Platon Lebedev, are already being held in Chita.

They have been found guilty of fraudulently acquiring billions of dollars between 1998 and 2004.  Both are serving eight-year prison terms for fraud and tax evasion.