Former Russian tycoon may seek asylum in UK

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was once Russia's richest man, has said he is giving serious thought to asking the United Kingdom to grant him political asylum, after a Russian court declared him "under arrest in absentia" over the murder of a Siberian mayor in the 1990s.

Khodorkovsky maintains that the charges are politically motivated, and that orders have come directly from Russian president Vladimir Putin to have him incarcerated.

"I'm considered by president Putin as a threat, economically, because of the possible seizure of Russian assets abroad, and politically, as someone who will potentially help democratic candidates in the coming 2016 elections," he told the BBC.

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Khodorkovsky, the former head of the Yukos oil company, has already spent ten years in a Siberian prison on fraud charges, which he also believes were politically motivated.

He was suddenly pardoned by Putin in 2013 and flown out of the country.

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, insisted yesterday that there was no contradiction between the president's move to pardon the ex-tycoon and the arrest warrant.

In a wide ranging interview, Khodorkovsky was asked by the BBC if the murders of prominent opponents of Putin – including former secret agent Alexander Litvinenko, poisoned with radioactive polonium in a London hotel in 2006 – made him feel at risk.

"The history of deaths of opponents of this regime is impressive … but I was in jail for 10 years, I could have been killed any day easily" he replied. "In London I feel much safer than during those years."

On his release from prison, Khodorkovsky swore not to get involved in Russian politics. However, in recent months, he has become more vocal about Putin's presidency, including accusations that Putin is leading his country into a 1970s-style period of stagnation that could lead to a collapse of the government and economy.

Khordorkovsky claims his aim is to "help young political activists in Russia to gain political experience and present an alternative to the existing regime".

"I'm quite confident that within 10 years the regime will be changed and I hope I will play a significant role in that," he said.