Russian businessman freed from house arrest, his company says

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov was freed from house arrest on Friday, said a company spokeswoman, but the tycoon will have to stay in Russia to face money laundering charges in a deal to acquire a regional oil company.

Yevtushenkov, who heads the Sistema telecoms-to-oil conglomerate, was put under house arrest late on Tuesday, charged in connection with a deal to acquire an almost 80 percent stake in oil producer Bashneft .

The conditions of his arrest, which some investors feared was a return to state intervention in the economy, were criticised by many in Russia's business elite, who said they were excessively harsh for a man unlikely to flee justice after cooperating with the investigation since earlier this year.

"He has been freed from arrest," the spokeswoman said, declining to give further details. She said the company would most likely issue a statement on Monday.

A spokesman for Russia's Investigative Committee which arrested Yevtushenkov on Tuesday, Vladimir Markin, was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency that the conditions of the businessman's arrest and the charges had not changed.

Sistema has denied the charges, saying the acquisition of assets in the Bashneft was legal and transparent.

(Reporting by Anastasia Teterevleva, writing by Elizabeth Piper, editing by Thomas Grove)