A Russian oil billionaire who fled his homeland claiming persecution by the authorities has applied for political asylum in Britain, the Mail on Sunday newspaper reported. Mikhail Gutseriyev resigned as head of Russneft, Russia's seventh-largest oil company, in July before leaving the country, prompting Russia to issue an international arrest warrant for him.
Now he is in hiding in Britain and has applied to the Home Office for leave to remain, the newspaper said, quoting unnamed official sources. Officials received the papers in the past two weeks and are now rushing through his application, it added.