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Imprisoned Russian oil billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky on July 16 denounced the government's legal campaign against him as 'extremely dangerous' for the Russian society.

The 41-year-old tycoon is charged with multiple counts of tax evasion and fraud. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Russia's richest and most famous prisoner described the charges against him as absurd and unsubstantiated and told a Moscow court that he would prove them wrong.

Speaking for the first time in his own defence, Khodorkovsky said that the allegations were 'baffling,' 'sloppy and groundless' and 'a politically motivated selective exercise of justice.'

Khodorkovsky's lawyers has portrayed the case as Kremlin-orchestrated effort to punish him for his political opposition to President Vladimir Putin.

Before his arrest last October, Khodorkovsky was financing opposition parties and had used his clout in the state Duma to block legislation that the Kremlin favoured.

Forbes magazine says Khodorkovsky is worth more than $15 billion.

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