Siberian businessman Dmitry Gordeyev has fled to Georgia, alleging FSB extortion and a ‘fabricated’ criminal case. VTB is planning to cut 1,500 jobs by 2013 in order to reduce costs. A German news source is reporting that Mikhail Khodorkovsky could be investigated for money laundering, after investigators ‘accidentally found accounts under Khodorkovsky’s name worth between 15 million euros and 20 million euros ($20 million to $27 million) during a tax evasion raid’. Steelmaker Evraz is seeking a listing on the London Stock Exchange. Cognac imports from the breakaway Moldovan republic of Transdnestr may suffer a political ban. Unilever will buy Yekaterinburg-based beauty products manufacturer Kalina for $700 million, allowing it to overtake L’Oreal’s no.2 position. The WSJ outlines measures taken by Russia to deal with ‘lack of business experience as it made its move away from central planning’. The Emergencies Minister is in Serbia to oversee a series of deals. On the Cuban popularity of the Lada.