Global Policy Forum

By Giles Tremlett and Suzanne Goldenberg

The Russian press baron Vladimir Gusinsky left Spain last night as his recently regained freedom came under threat from Moscow prosecutors who issued a new international arrest warrant accusing him of money laundering.

The move came the day after a Spanish court threw out a previous Russian extradition request on fraud charges, allowing Mr Gusinsky to travel for the first time in four months.

It also came after Mr Gusinsky claimed, in an interview in yesterday's Guardian, that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin would not cease in his attempts to destroy him as punishment for the critical journalism of his NTV station and other news outlets.

The Russian prosecutor's spokesman, Yuri Vasilchenko, confirmed yesterday that the new warrant had been lodged with Interpol. He said Mr Gusinsky was being accused of laundering 2.8bn roubles (£67m). "The charges are backed by strong evidence and we expect that Gusinsky will be extradited," he said.

But the warrant will now arrive too late to catch Mr Gusinsky, who spent yesterday in Gibraltar where he has residency as an individual of high net worth and holds business interests. His lawyers in Madrid said he planned to fly from there directly to Israel in his private jet last night.

Mr Gusinsky has joint Israeli-Russian nationality. He would probably be immune to extradition from Israel but would still face arrest and new extradition hearings if he returned to Europe or the United States. Neither Mr Gusinsky's Madrid lawyers nor his representative in Israel, Mark Mejerson, were able to say exactly where he was last night.

Mr Gusinsky's Spanish lawyers reacted angrily to the news of a fresh Interpol warrant. "This is an abuse of both Interpol and the Spanish courts. What they are seeking is to have him detained for purely political reasons," said Gerardo Miguel.

Mr Gusinsky also has business interests in Israel, where he owns a 25% share in the newspaper Ma'ariv. He founded the Russian Jewish Congress and is a friend of many Israeli politicians, including the prime minister, Ariel Sharon. Mr Sharon's spokesman, Raanan Gissin, said yesterday that Mr Gusinsky was welcome. "He is an Israeli citizen. He can come here any time he wants."

This month the Russian company Gazprom , closely linked to the state, took control of Mr Gusinsky's Media Most empire and its flagship NTV channel. Most of NTV's news staff resigned after the takeover, which they claimed was a Kremlin attempt to stifle the free press. The group's Sevodnya newspaper was suspended and the staff of the weekly news magazine Itogi were dismissed.