Putin compares jailed tycoon to Madoff, Capone

Khodorkovsky has not been accused of violent crimes himself -- although his former security chief has been convicted of murder.

Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin dismissed concerns over the trial of jailed tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky on Friday, comparing him to US fraudster Bernie Maddoff and gangster Al Capone.

Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man, is serving an eight-year sentence for fraud and tax evasion and is currently on trial in Moscow on new charges of financial crimes that could see him jailed for another two decades.

The tycoon's supporters argue that the new charges are absurd and fabricated to keep Khodorkovsky -- who ran the Yukos oil empire -- in jail indefinitely in revenge for daring to finance the opposition when Putin was president.

But the Kremlin insists he is guilty of massive financial crimes stemming from the controversial privatisation deals of the 1990s. Defence lawyers say that a verdict in the trial is not expected until the spring of 2010.

- Take Bernard Madoff in the United States. He got a life sentence and no-one blinked - Putin told reporters who asked him about the case during a trip to Paris to negotiate new gas pipeline and auto manufacturing deals.

- The activities of those implicated in these criminal affairs cost Russia billions - he said, referring to the Yukos case, alleging that there had been - attempts on the life and health of individuals. -

Khodorkovsky has not been accused of violent crimes himself -- although his former security chief has been convicted of murder -- but Putin suggested that the fraud trials may serve as punishment for bloodier crimes.

- As you know, in the 1930s in the United States, Al Capone was officially only prosecuted for tax evasion while, in practice, he was judged for all the crimes he had committed, in full respect of the law - Putin said.

- Everything that's going on with us is in full respect of the law. -