A close associate of top Russian opposition figure Aleksei Navalny has denied earlier reports that he had been granted political asylum in Britain.
Vladimir Ashurkov, the executive director of Navalny's anticorruption foundation, told the Dozhd-TV online channel on February 16 that the statement by his common-law wife's lawyer about his having received asylum in the UK are not true.
Ashurkov confirmed that he has applied for asylum in Britain, but said a decision is still pending.
Earlier, on February 16, lawyer Aleksandr Salnikov told reporters in Moscow that U.K. authorities had granted Ashurkov asylum.
Ashurkov, a former banker, helped Navalny expose corruption among the elite and worked on Navalny's campaign for Moscow mayor in 2013.
In June, the Investigative Committee issued an arrest warrant for Ashurkov and charged two other Navalny allies with alleged fraud linked to the financing of the mayoral campaign.