Warrant Is Issued for Berezovsky

In a renewed attack on former Kremlin insiders, authorities in Russia have issued an arrest warrant for tycoon Boris A. Berezovsky and charged the country’s railway minister, the state prosecutor said Monday.

Berezovsky, who lives in self-imposed exile, will be arrested if he sets foot in Russia, said Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov.

Ustinov did not give details on the charges against Railway Minister Nikolai Y. Aksyonenko. Earlier reports said he was charged with misuse of funds.

The government of President Vladimir V. Putin has tried to distance itself from the corruption-tainted administration of his predecessor, Boris N. Yeltsin, and the cases against once-influential members of Yeltsin’s inner circle suggested a new move to deprive them of their remaining power.

Berezovsky is a harsh critic of Putin and has tried to rally opposition forces.

Aksyonenko, once so powerful that he came close to being nominated as one of Yeltsin’s prime ministers, has been far less visible in the Putin Cabinet. Putin demoted him from first deputy prime minister to railways minister, the post Aksyonenko held before his links with top power brokers led to his promotion.

Aksyonenko said he was questioned by prosecutors Friday as a witness and only learned of the charges Monday. He indicated that the charges were linked to $374 million in ministry taxes allegedly unpaid for 2000 and called them an attempt to stop railway reform.

Aksyonenko has been linked in the Russian media to Berezovsky, the subject of frequent accusations of corruption and political manipulation at the highest levels during the Yeltsin years. But Ustinov denied a connection between the two cases.

The case against Berezovsky stems from authorities’ suspicions that Aeroflot airline executives have funneled millions in revenue to two Swiss firms founded by Berezovsky.