The yearlong trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky entered a new stage Tuesday as prosecutors began to question the former Yukos owner for the first time.
Khodorkovsky, who is serving an eight-year sentence for fraud and tax evasion, faces an additional sentence of 22 1/2 years if found guilty of stealing $30 billion in oil.
Prosecutors asked Khodorkovsky about 20 questions, mostly concerning his acquisition of Yukos and its subsidiaries in the 1990s.
"The total sum of the deal was $350 million, not counting the investment program," Khodorkovsky said, adding that Yukos had a debt of $2 billion when he acquired it from the state in a privatization auction.
He insisted that the 1995 deal was legitimate.
It was not clear Tuesday why the prosecutors were focusing on a deal not immediately related to the charges.
In April, Khodorkovsky contested every charge of the 148-page indictment during a weeks-long address to Moscow's Khamovnichesky District Court.