MOSCOW — The arrest of a Russian telecoms and oil tycoon has sent shock waves through the country’s business community, with some fearing a return to the dark days of a decade ago, when the Kremlin asserted its power by imprisoning the country’s then-richest man and expropriating his companies.

The criminal case against 65-year-old Vladimir Yevtushenkov marks the first attack on a billionaire businessman since the arrest in 2003 of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former head of Yukos, which was the country’s largest oil company at the time. He spent the next decade in prison on tax evasion and misappropriation charges and saw his company taken over by the state and sold in pieces.

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Billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov’s oil company is booming, which could make it an attractive target for Russia to expropriate. The Associated Press

The prosecution of Khodorkovsky had sent a clear message to Russian oligarchs: Stay out of politics and your property will be safe.

Market watchers are almost unanimous in saying that Yevtushenkov’s house arrest is a move by the government and state-owned oil giant Rosneft to take control of his oil company, Bashneft. Rosneft is seeing his oil output falling and has been hit by Western sanctions, whereas Bashneft is enjoying a boom.

On Tuesday, Russia charged Yevtushenkov with money laundering and placed him under house arrest. He could face up to seven years in prison.

Yevtushenkov controls Sistema, a sprawling conglomerate whose shares lost 38 percent by late afternoon on Wednesday.

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