Russian oil tycoon defiant

Jailed Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky hit back at the state after a year-long barrage against himself and the Yukos oil company, pledging to prove his innocence over accusations he called “absurd” and politically motivated.

As part of his first formal response to fraud, forgery and tax evasion charges since his arrest at gunpoint nearly nine months ago, Khodorkovsky also said Yukos – battered by multi-billion tax claims – had put more money into government coffers than other companies.