Moscow court to announce verdict in Khodorkovsky trial

The Khamovniki district court in Moscow is expected to begin on Monday the announcement of a verdict in the new trial of former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev, RIA Novosti reported.

The announcement was originally planned to begin on December 16, but the court suddenly postponed it until December 27 without offering any explanation.

Khodorkovsky and Lebedev, who have already spent seven years behind bars for tax evasion, are facing new charges of embezzling 218 tons of oil from Khodorkovsky's former oil firm Yukos and laundering over 3 billion rubles ($97.5 million) in revenues. The two men may spent up to another seven years in jail, if found guilty.

Both defendants have repeatedly maintained their innocence and claimed that the charges against them were politically motivated.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has denied that Khodorkovsky was a victim of double standards and political struggle, while Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has openly called the former Yukos boss "a thief who should be in jail."

Observers say it is highly likely that the two men will be found guilty as it is in the Kremlin's interests to keep them in jail for as long as possible.