In today's Moscow Times front page story on the possibility of new charges against Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Alfa Bank chief strategist Chris Weafer speculates on the PR objective of new, trumped up charges:
Alfa Bank chief strategist Chris Weafer said the timing of the possible money-laundering charges was not a coincidence, given the impending sell-off of Yukos' remaining assets.The Moscow Arbitration Court in August ordered the once-great oil giant's bankruptcy and liquidation.
The money-laundering charges would give authorities a chance to portray the Yukos dismemberment as the Russian equivalent of the United States' Enron case rather than a state assault on a private firm, Weafer added.
