A Moscow court on Thursday ordered wealthy businessman Vladimir Yevtushenkov to remain under house arrest until November 16, pushing down shares in his company Sistema in a case that has shocked Russian business leaders.

Yevtushenkov, Sistema's Chairman and main owner, was put under house arrest last week on suspicion of money laundering in the telecoms-to-oil conglomerate's acquisition of oil producer Bashneft. Sistema denies the accusations.

The charges against Yevtushenkov, who was 66 on Thursday and is one of Russia's richest men, raised fears of a return to more state intervention in the economy and drew comparisons with the fate of former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who spent a decade in jail on fraud and tax evasion charges after falling out with President Vladimir Putin.

Yevtushenkov's lawyers appealed against the arrest, saying it was "groundless, unlawful and contradictory to common sense" and asked the court to let him go on bail.

But Judge Yuri Pasyunin said the appeals court had ruled to leave the preventive punishment measure unchanged.

Shares in Sistema fell around 10 per cent on the news, extending falls over the past week to more than 40 per cent.

Shares in Bashneft were down 4.3 per cent by 0943 GMT.

Sistema said last Friday that Yevtushenkov had been released from house arrest but investigators later denied this.

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