BERLIN, January 5 (RIA Novosti) – Former Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky has arrived in Switzerland from Germany, where he had been staying since his release from a Russian jail, his spokesman said Sunday.
Spokesman Christian Hanne said Khodorkovsky will stay in Switzerland for at least several days, without giving further details. His three-month visa enables him to travel freely within the 26-nation Schengen area, he said.
Khodorkovsky was granted a visa to Switzerland, where his wife Inna lives and his twin sons go to school, on December 30. He applied for the visa four days after his release from a Russian prison and arrival in Germany.
A spokeswoman for Khodorkovsky said he was considering a possible move to the country, where he has business ties.
Germany, another Schengen state, had earlier granted Khodorkovsky a one-year visa allowing him to stay in that country.
Khodorkovsky, former head of the dismantled oil giant Yukos, was freed on December 20 by a presidential pardon after serving more than a decade in prison following his arrest on a Siberian runway in 2003 and two subsequent convictions for fraud, tax evasion and embezzlement.
