MOSCOW, July 22 (Reuters) - The chief executive of Russia's largest oil firm failed to appear in court on Thursday after being summoned to give evidence in the trial of jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
State controlled Rosneft <ROSN.MM> rose to become Russia’s largest oil company by buying the main production assets of YUKOS, which was carved up after its owner Khodorkovsky fell foul of the Kremlin under Vladimir Putin.
Lawyers for Khodorkovsky, who is serving an eight-year jail sentence, had asked the court to summon Rosneft CEO Sergei Bogdanchikov to give evidence in a new trial that could keep Khodorkovsky in prison for another 22 years.
But Bogdanchikov — the most prominent businessman yet called as a witness at the trial — failed to appear.
"Witness Bogdanchikov did not appear. The reason is unknown," Judge Viktor Danilkin said in court.
The judge gave no more details and court officials refused to comment on the situation. Spokesmen for Rosneft refused repeated requests for comment.
A Russian government source said Bogdanchikov on Thursday had met Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, who is also Rosneft board chairman, about investments in the southern region of Kabardino-Balkaria. A power station in the region was attacked by insurgents on Wednesday.
"The court was given no explanation for the absence of the witness though according to the law he should immediately inform the court giving serious grounds. This was not done," Vadim Klyuvgant, Khodorkovsky’s lead lawyer, told reporters.
Khodorkovsky’s business empire — which pumped more oil than OPEC member Qatar — was carved up and sold to state-controlled companies after his 2003 arrest.
Khodorkovsky has always said he is the victim of corrupt officials under Putin who feared his political ambitions and wanted to carve up his YUKOS oil company, which was once widely held by U.S. and European emerging market investment funds.
Putin, who stepped down as Kremlin chief in 2008 and is now prime minister, has rejected any hint of politics in the case against Khodorkovsky, whom he has compared to U.S. gangster Al Capone. (Additional reporting by Katya Golubkova; writing by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Janet Lawrence)
