Russia's MICEX jumped almost 1% this morning on news that Vladimir Putin had asked for clemency in the jailing of vocal Kremlin critic, Yukos founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Khodorkovsky has been jailed since 2003 on a variety of tax-evasion, fraid and embezzlement charges though being among the nation's wealthiest men, the jailing was seen as politically-motivated (because of his political ambitions). The WSJ reports [3] that Putin said this morning, "He asked for a pardon for humanitarian reasons, his mother is sick, and I believe that we can make a decision and will soon sign a decree to pardon him." The twist in this tale is that Khodorkovsky's people deny the pardon request, [4] since Putin's spin would be the pardon request implies an admission of guilt...
Via WSJ, [3]
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"Mikhail Khodorkovsky…recently wrote to me and asked me for a pardon. He has already been deprived of his liberty for more than 10 years. It is a severe punishment," Mr. Putin said. "He asked for a pardon for humanitarian reasons, his mother is sick, and I believe that we can make a decision and will soon sign a decree to pardon him."
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Mr. Khodorkovsky—a vocal Kremlin critic—and his business partner Platon Lebedev have been jailed since 2003 on a variety of tax-evasion, fraud and embezzlement charges.
Once among Russia's wealthiest people, the two men were imprisoned in a proceeding viewed by many as politically motivated because of Mr. Khodorkovsky's political ambitions. As the original sentences for fraud and tax evasion wound down, a second trial for embezzlement and money-laundering was held in 2010 that initially resulted in their prison terms being extended until late 2016.
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However, the plot thickens
Until the legal team can meet with Mikhail Khodorkovsky, all previously given statements by his lawyers regarding him asking for a pardon should be considered invalid.
Of course, the reason being that any pardon request by Khodorkovsky would imply an admission of guilt...