Russian court upholds businessman evtushenkov\\\'s house arrest

MOSCOW, Sept 25 (Reuters): A Moscow court on Thursday ordered wealthy businessman Vladimir Yevtushenkov to remain under house arrest until Nov. 16, pushing down shares in his company Sistema in a case that has shocked Russian business leaders.

Yevtushenkov, Sistema's chairman and main owner, was put under house arrest last week on suspicion of money laundering in the telecoms-to-oil conglomerate's acquisition of oil producer Bashneft. Sistema denies the accusations.

The charges against Yevtushenkov, who was 66 on Thursday and is one of Russia's richest men, raised fears of a return to more state intervention in the economy and drew comparisons with the fate of former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who spent a decade in jail on fraud and tax evasion changes after falling out with President Vladimir Putin.