PARIS: Sergei Pugachev, a tycoon once dubbed ‘Putin’s banker’ because of his influence in the Kremlin, has filed a $12 billion claim against Russia at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague after his business empire was carved up when he fell out of favour with President Vladimir Putin. “Over the past few years, Russia has pursued a multi-pronged attack against me, my family, and my investments,” Pugachev said in a written statement on Tuesday. “I refuse to be intimidated by Russia’s tactics.” Pugachev’s lawyers said that such claims can take years but noted that Moscow is already fighting a separate ruling by the same court in 2014, when it was ordered to pay $50 billion for expropriating the assets of Yukos, once Russia’s biggest oil producer run by Mikhail Khodorkovsky. When asked about the Pugachev claim, Putin’s Spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said he had ‘no comment’ but said that official investigations were ongoing.