Russia has opened an investigation into Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky and 22 others for allegedly plotting a coup against President Vladimir Putin. 

Khodorkovsky, who was once held as a prisoner for 10 years on charges that many alleged were politically motivated, is now being probed for his ties to the Russian Anti-War Committee and its efforts to support Ukraine amidst its conflict with Russia. 

The group was banned in Russia but still operates internationally. Khodorkovsky has financially supported the group while living in exile but maintains there is no effort to overthrow Putin. 

“The threat we truly pose to Putin comes from our function as an alternative point of legitimacy. If our work has rattled him to this extent, then clearly our approach is the correct one,” he wrote in a statement on the social platform X.

In a separate post, Khodorkovsky said the Anti-War Committee has been “building relationships with international institutions and acting in the interests of Russian citizens – something the regime itself has abandoned all pretense of doing.”

In addition to Khodorkovsky’s investigation by Russia’s Federal Security Service, former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov are also under scrutiny, according to The Financial Times, as well as retailer Evgeny Chichvarkin and business owner Mikhail Kokorich. 

They’ve been accused of helping to fund and recruit Ukrainian paramilitary units, which Khodorkovsky denies.