[JURIST] The Russian Office of the Prosecutor-General [official website, in Russian] has opened a criminal investigation into allegations that exiled business tycoon Boris Berezovsky [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] falsely claimed the country's secret service had targeted him for assassination, an office spokesperson told the Itar-Tass news agency Thursday. Prosecutors are investigating whether Berezovsky violated Article 306 of the Russian Criminal Code [text]. Itar-Tass has more.

Berezovsky, who resides in the UK as a political refugee, has previously been accused of plotting a coup [JURIST report] against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Last November, Berezovsky was sentenced in absentia to six years in prison after being found guilty of embezzling 214 million rubles from Russian national airline Aeroflot; a Moscow City Court rejected his appeal [JURIST reports] last month. Berezovsky has denied all charges, which he says are politically motivated.