Reuters reported that Russian tycoon Mr Oleg Deripaska denied any connections to firms that are being probed by Spanish officials over money laundering, and said he had asked Russian prosecutors to contact Spanish authorities about the allegations.

Mr Deripaska statement issued late on Sunday follows a report in Spanish newspaper El Mundo saying that Spanish High Court Judge Baltasar Garzon plans to travel to Moscow to interview Mr Deripaska in connection with a money laundering case.

The statement said 'We wish to make clear that Mr Deripaska has not received any communication from the Spanish authorities concerning this matter. Some time ago Mr. Deripaska received information that his name had been mentioned by a witness in a Spanish money laundering case. He asked the Russian Prosecutor General to check this information with the Spanish authorities and to communicate to them his readiness to answer any questions they might have.”

The statement said that Mr Deripaska understood from the Spanish press that the authorities were seeking his testimony because of alleged links between him and various companies which are subject of the investigation.

The statement said “In fact, Mr Deripaska has no such links with these companies, a fact which has already been confirmed by judgments issued in other proceedings.”

According to Spanish media Mr Garzon best known for his attempt to extradite former Chilean dictator Mr Augusto Pinochet has already called several times for investigations into mafia links and money laundering allegations against other Russian officials and businessmen.

Mr Deripaska main legal battlefield outside Russia is London, where a court of appeal ruled in July that Russian entrepreneur Michael Cherney may sue Deripaska in Britain over a disputed stake in Mr Deripaska's Russian aluminium company UC RUSAL.

(Sourced from Reuters)