Russian 'Opposition' TV Host Faces Khodorkovsky-Type Probe

Television host and opposition activist Ksenia Sobchak (C) attends a permanent protest against the inauguration of Vladimir Putin, in Moscow, Russia, 11 May 2012. EPA/BGNES

Russian TV-host-turned-opposition-activist Ksenia Sobchak will have her tax declarations, bank accounts and business projects scrutinized for any possible wrongdoing, Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said on Friday.

Thus, Sobchak may be subjected to a probe similar to the tax investigations that sent Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky to jail, who critics claim became the victim of political persecution.

The probe was launched following the search of her apartment on Monday when investigators impounded a large amount of cash - over EUR 1 M, USD 480,000 and RUB 480,000 (USD 16 000) - as part of a case that has been opened into the "riots" in central Moscow on May 6 ahead of Vladimir Putin's inauguration as president, RIA Novosti reported.

Investigators want to ascertain the source of that cash and make sure that no laws or regulations have been broken, Markin said.

Sobchak, who is the daughter of President Vladimir Putin's late St. Petersburg boss and mentor, wrote in her Twitter account that an investigator with a rank of major told her in so many words that she would have had no problem if she had not fallen in with bad company.

"Marry a Chekist," he told her, referring to a secret police officer.

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