Appeals court upholds ruling denying Khodorkovsky parole

The board of the Chita District Court in East Siberia rejected Thursday an appeal against a lower court decision to deny parole to Yukos founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

CHITA, October 16 (RIA Novosti) - The board of the Chita District Court in East Siberia rejected Thursday an appeal against a lower court decision to deny parole to Yukos founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

Russia's one-time richest man is currently serving an eight-year sentence for fraud and tax evasion.

Semyon Rozenberg, a lawyer for Khodorkovsky, said that the defense had appealed the court ruling that extended the former oligarch's custody as part of a new investigation into money laundering.

The Chita court on October 8 extended Khodorkovsky's custody until February 9, 2009, as investigators look into accusations of stealing oil and laundering money totaling $28.3 billion between 1998 and 2004.

Khodorkovsky has consistently maintained his innocence, saying he has been punished for supporting the country's pro-Western opposition, and that the subsequent liquidation of Yukos was engineered by corrupt government officials aiming to seize lucrative oil assets.