New probe into Russian oil tycoon

Yukos is braced for more raids

Russian state prosecutors have said they will interrogate oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky for a second time.

Mr Khodorkovsky is Russia's richest man with an estimated personal fortune of $8bn and is the chief executive of Yukos oil company.

"We already questioned Khodorkovsky once and plan to summon him again," deputy prosecutor Yuri Biyukov was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.

Critics say the recent series of raids is a politically-driven campaign led by the Kremlin to assert its power of tycoons and keep them out of politics.

Mr Khodorkovsky played down the news of the second interrogation, saying he was happy to face questions.

Foreign deal?

Two Yukos executives are already facing criminal charges, including Platon Lebedev, the group's chief financier, who is in jail waiting for trial on charges of defrauding a state company in 1994.

Last week, tax-evasion charges were filed against Vasily Sharkhnovsky, who is responsible for the auditing of operations.

The investigations have made foreign investors nervous.

Yukos, recently merged with Sibneft, is currently thought to be in the final stages of a deal with US oil giant ExxonMobil.

Although neither company has commented on a potential tie-up, speculators expect a deal to amount to the largest ever foreign investment in Russia.

Police first raided Yukos offices in Moscow in July, spending nearly 17 hours searching through computer archives.