Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a fierce critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin, is considering applying for political asylum in the UK.

The former oil tycoon, who was charged earlier this month with ordering the 1998 murder of a Siberian mayor, told BBC News: “Definitely I’m considering asking for asylum in the UK, [Putin] sees me – it’s obvious now – as a serious threat.”

Khodorkovsky, who was once Russia’s richest man, has criticised the Kremlin repeatedly in recent months. He accused Putin of leading Russia into a 1970s Soviet-style period of stagnation that could eventually trigger its collapse.

The former head of the now defunct Yukos oil firm spent a decade in a Siberian prison for fraud, a charge that he said had been fabricated to punish him for funding political opposition to Putin.

Despite saying he regarded Khodorkovsky as a common thief, the president pardoned him in 2013 and he now lives abroad, mainly in Switzerland.

At the time of his pardon, Khodorkovsky said he would not get involved in politics – which was was widely believed to have been the reason for his early release.

Now his aim is to “help young political activists in Russia to gain political experience and present an alternative to the existing regime”.

It was “far too optimistic” to speak of regime change in Russia now, he said.

“But 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 added.

On Tuesday, armed Russian police raided the offices of the Open Russia movement, the organisation Khodorkovsky founded to unite groups and individuals who want Russia to change.

In what was said to be part of a criminal investigation into the former tycoon and his associates linked to allegations of tax evasion, police had also searched some of the organisation’s staff members’ apartments in Moscow and St Petersburg and taken away documents.

“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 said.



He 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.”