Mikhail Khodorkovsky was convicted of theft and money laundering charges Monday,a verdict that will likely keep the jailed oil tycoon and his business partner Platon Lebedev behind bars for several years. The verdict came less than two weeks after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Khodorkovsky was a proven criminal who should sit in prison,a blunt statement reflecting his stance against the man who challenged his power remarks denounced by critics as interference in the trial. The conviction on charges of stealing around $27 billion worth of oil his Yukos company produced between 1998 and 2003 and laundering the proceeds could keep him behind bars until at least 2017. Numerous witnesses,including current and former government officials,testified during the trial that the charges were improbable if not absurd.
