[JURIST] The Moscow City Court on Monday rejected the appeal of exiled business tycoon Boris Berezovsky [BBC profile; JURIST news archive]. Berezovsky has been sentenced to six years in prison, after being found guilty [JURIST report] last November of embezzling 214 million rubles from Russian national airline Aeroflot. Berezovsky was tried in absentia, as he now resides in the UK as a political refugee. Berezovsky has denied all charges, which he characterizes as political motivated, and the appeal rejected Monday was filed by a court-appointed lawyer rather than Berezovksy's defense lawyers.

Russian prosecutors had pushed for a nine year sentence, and have also accused Berezovsky of plotting a coup [JURIST reports] against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Last July, prosecutors alleged that Berezovsky embezzled credit funds [JURIST report] from SBS-Agro Bank [EBRD profile], which he then owned, to purchase real estate in southern France. AP has more.