MOSCOW, January 24 (RIA Novosti) - A Moscow court sanctioned on Thursday the arrest of the owner of Russian cosmetics retail chain Arbat Prestige on suspicion of tax evasion, a court spokesperson said.

Vladimir Nekrasov, 47, was detained late on Wednesday. A police source said the businessman owed 49.5 million rubles ($2 million) in back taxes for January 2005 - December 2006, and that a criminal case had been launched.

Arbat Prestige is one of Russia's leading cosmetic retailers. It opened its first retail outlet in 1999, and currently runs a network of 98 outlets across Russia. The company's revenue stood at around $346 million in 2006.

Nekrasov has controlled the company since 2005. The businessman owns a collection of around 7,000 paintings.