Moscow - An intense Russian legal drama took a sharp twist yesterday as prosecutors threatened the Russian tycoon Mr Boris Berezovsky and independent media magnate Mr Vladimir Gusinsky with new criminal charges and perhaps jail.
The news piled more pressure on the two Russian "oligarchs" who enjoyed extravagant wealth and influence during Mr Boris Yeltsin's presidency. Both men now reside abroad.
Criminal charges against Mr Berezovsky may be filed on November 13th, when he again will be questioned by prosecutors in connection with a two-year inquiry into his dealings with the national airline, Aeroflot.
Investigators are examining allegations that Mr Berezovsky, who had at one stage stacked Aeroflot's board with allies, took hundreds of millions of dollars from the airline and put the money in Swiss bank accounts.
"We have enough reason to be speaking about charging the figures involved" in the Aeroflot case, the Deputy Prosecutor-General, Mr Vasily Kolmogorov said.