William Browder, the head of Hermitage Capital, was denied entry into Russia in spring, purportedly under a rule that bars foreigners who present a national security threat from entering the country. The Russian Foreign Ministry is yet to comment officially on the matter.
But Vladimir Putin told journalists at a news conference at the end of day two of the Group of Eight summit that he was unaware why Browder had been banned.
"I will say honestly that I simply do not know the reason why a specific person was denied entry into the Russian Federation," he said.
"I can imagine that this person broke the laws of our country, and if others break the laws, then we will deny [entry] to them," Putin said. "But we will provide every support and assistance to those people who come to our country to work, even more so invest in the Russian Federation, in our economy."
The president said foreign investment - both direct and portfolio - was growing, as was the capitalization of the Russian market.
"Therefore, we are extremely interested not only in the inflow of investment, but in work with decent and professional investors who really want to work in the Russian economy in the long term," he said.
