The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on its website that the Ukrainian businessman, Semion Mogilevich, 61, was wanted "for racketeering, securities fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering."
Mogilevich was seized alongside Vladimir Nekrasov, 47, the owner of the Arbat Prestige cosmetics retailer in what has been described as a major police operation, involving elite commandoes. Bodyguards for the two men are reported to have made no attempt to interfere in the arrests.
A police source later said that Nekrasov owed 49.5 million rubles ($2 million) in back taxes for January 2005 - December 2006, and that a criminal case had been launched.
Mogilevich is also wanted in Russia and a number of other countries, and a police source said that he held several other passports in different names. His identity had originally been announced as Sergei Schneider by Russian authorities.
Arbat Prestige is one of Russia's leading cosmetic retailers. Established in 1989, it opened its first retail outlet in 1998, and currently runs a network of 64 outlets across Russia. The company reported revenues of around $346 million in 2006.
