A few days after Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Yukos’ founder, was arrested in October 2003, President Vladimir Putin invited a group of leading foreign bankers and brokers to the Kremlin. He wanted to allay fears that Russia might be veering away from the path of economic reform.

Mr Putin reassured his guests that the jailing of Russia’s richest and most western leaning entrepreneur did not signal the start of a wider campaign against business in Russia. Television footage showed investors leaving the meeting looking relieved.