Former Yukos VP released from custody

Vasily Aleksanyan has paid a 50 million rouble bail bond ($1.7M) and was released today from custody, according to his lawyer.

The former Yukos Vice-President suffers from AIDS and cancer and has been under guard in hospital since February after spending three years in prison.

Earlier this month the Moscow City Court ruled that he could be freed on bail due to his seriously deteriorating health.

Aleksanyan has undergone three unsuccessful bouts of chemotherapy treatment and is the first involved in the Yukos case to be released on bail.

The former CEO of the now defunct gas giant, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, is still serving a nine-year prison term for tax evasion and money laundering.