(MENAFN- AFP) Russian stocks fell on Wednesday with the news that top businessman Vladimir Yevtushenkov had been placed under house arrest in an embezzlement and money laundering probe.
Shares in Yevtushenkov's AFK Sistema holding and its subsidiaries MTS and Bashneft fell sharply from the opening of trading.
But the ruble rallied slightly from its recent plunge.
The probe into 65-year-old Yevtushenkov centres on how AFK Sistema, acquired oil company Bashneft.
In morning trading, shares in AFK Sistema had fallen 26.3 percent, the Interfax news agency reported, and by early afternoon they were down 31.72 percent on the MICEX exchange.
Shares in Bashneft shares were down 22.41 percent and MTS shares were down 7.30 percent.
The news of Yevtushenkov's arrest had come after markets closed on Tuesday.
The MICEX was down 0.49 at the start of trading and the RTS was down 0.34 GMT. By early afternoon, the MICEX was down 2.09 and the RTS was down 1.13.
The ruble rallied slightly against the euro and dollar from the record lows of earlier this week, with the dollar worth 38.35 rubles and the euro worth 49.70 rubles.
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