A Russian court has ordered the arrest of the exiled Kremlin critic and ex-tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
A spokesman for Russia's Investigative Committee, Vladimir Markin, was quoted by Russian media on December 23 as saying the court had issued an international arrest warrant for Khodorkovsky, who spends much of his time in London.
Earlier this month, investigators accused Khodorkovsky, who spent 10 years in jail before he was pardoned by Putin in 2013, of involvement in the 1998 killing of a Siberian mayor.
Once Russia's richest man, Khodorkovsky has dismissed the charges. He's also accused President Vladimir Putin of flouting the Russian constitution and leading the country to ruin.
On December 22, Russian investigators searched homes of several employees of a charity foundation funded by Khodorkovsky.
Khodorkovsky's charity foundation Open Russia said that the homes of its employees were raided in connection with a 2003 criminal case which led to Khodorkovsky's jailing.
