Khodorkovsky associate, on trial for fraud, flees

MOSCOW, Jan 16 (Reuters) An associate of jailed Russian billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky slipped away from his police guard and escaped while on trial for fraud, the Kommersant newspaper reported today.

Police guarding Antonio Valdes Garcia at his apartment in Moscow told a closed court hearing on Friday he managed to lock them inside and then disappeared, the newspaper reported.

Kommersant said the accused man was on bail during his trial and the authorities put him under police guard for his own protection.

They said he was at risk of a revenge attack from his former business associates.

Police and court officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the report. Valdes Garcia is a native Russian but also holds a Spanish passport.

''We offered him consular protection in June last year. He said: 'Thank you very much for the offer and I will let you know if I need it','' a Spanish embassy spokesman in Moscow said. He declined to make any further comment.

Khodorkovsky, a founder of oil company YUKOS, is serving eight years in prison for fraud and tax evasion. He says the case against him was fabricated by his Kremlin enemies who are also mounting a witch-hunt against his YUKOS colleagues.

Valdes Garcia was general manager of YUKOS subsidiary Fargoil until 2004. He has been charged as an accomplice, with Khodorkovsky and others, in the alleged embezzlement of 13 dollar billion.

Reuters SP VV1430