Russian court extends custody of Yukos founder's partner

An East Siberian court on Monday extended the custody of Platon Lebedev, the business partner of jailed Yukos founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky, until April 2, 2009.

CHITA, December 29 (RIA Novosti) - An East Siberian court on Monday extended the custody of Platon Lebedev, the business partner of jailed Yukos founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky, until April 2, 2009.

The investigation into new charges brought against Lebedev and Khodorkovsky in early July of laundering $28.3 billion and stealing oil between 1998 and 2004 has also been extended until April 2, 2009.

Khodorkovsky's custody was last Tuesday extended until March 17, 2009. The detention of Lebedev and Khodorskovsky in the new case was to have ended on February 2.

However, the two are serving eight-year jail terms for previous convictions of fraud and tax evasion. They have denied all charges against them.