The Kremlin is stepping in to bail out one of the country's richest men, in what could be the first move in a shakeout among the powerful businessmen known as oligarchs, whose holdings are spread throughout the Russian and world economies.

People close to the situation said that on Tuesday Russia allowed Alfa Group, a conglomerate controlled by businessman Mikhail Fridman, to tap its $50bn (€39.2bn) rescue fund to pay back a $2bn loan to a group of banks led by Deutsche Bank. The funding allowed Fridman to avoid having to give up his 44% stake in one of Russia's biggest cellphone service providers, Vimpel Communications, which he had pledged to Deutsche Bank as collateral for the loan.