Runaway oil tycoon vanishes in Turkey

Mikhail Gutseriev, the former head of Russian energy giant, RussNeft, who is wanted by Russian authorities, is believed to be in Turkey, according to the Prosecutor General’s Office.

He disappeared at the end of July after being accused of tax evasion and illegal entrepreneurship – charges which have been backed by the Moscow City Court today.
 
RussNeft is one of Russia's top-ten oil companies.
 
Turkish authorities say they have no information that Gutseriev entered the country.

And Mr Gutseriev's lawyer insisted that her client had done nothing wrong.

“Mr Gutseriev is an honest man who follows the law. The company RussNeft, he was the head, of is one of the largest companies in the country. The activities of the company are fully compatible with the law, including taxation. The company made large donations to charity to building hospitals, educational institutions and recreational areas. It was involved in many social programmes. The case against Mikhail Gutseriev has no grounds and must be thrown out,” Alla Yaminskaya commented.