Putin Discusses Economist Sergei M. Guriev's Flight From Russia MOSCOW - President Vladimir V. Putin made his first comments about a top economist's flight from Russia, saying he had exaggerated the pressure put on him by investigators and had actually left for family reasons. The economist, Sergei M. Guriev, is a high-profile liberal intellectual who worked closely with the government of Mr. Putin's predecessor, Dmitri A. Medvedev. Mr. Guriev announced last week that he had left Russia because he feared that the authorities could seize his passport or even detain him. He had been questioned by state investigators in a conflict-of-interest case stemming from a report that harshly criticized the prosecution of the oil tycoon Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky. In recent months, Mr. Guriev has been a frequent and vocal critic of Kremlin policy, and he announced last May that he had donated money to the opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny, a highly unusual step for someone so well connected in Russia's elite circles. But Mr. Putin dismissed Mr. Guriev's account at a news conference on Tuesday, saying he was free to return to Russia at any time. "His wife lives and works in Paris," Mr. Putin said, answering questions after the European Union-Russia summit meeting in Yekaterinburg. No one was threatening him. He constantly goes to see her. If he wants to come back, let him come back. Mr. Putin went on to say that he was not aware of any grounds for detaining or imprisoning Mr. Guriev, who stepped down as rector of the New Economic School but remains on the board of Russia's largest consumer bank. The bank's shareholders re-elected him last week, and the bank's chairman said he could participate in board meetings via teleconference. Mr. Putin said that "if he did not violate anything, then 100 percent nothing threatens him - 100 percent." Asked if he could guarantee Mr. Guriev's safety if he returned, Mr. Putin answered: "What, is there is some basis for imprisoning him? I don't know anything about this. I just heard this name recently, and I don't know if he has some sins before the law. Mr. Guriev said he was questioned three times by investigators and was particularly unsettled by a warrant in late April demanding five years" worth of personal and professional e-mails, as well as searches of his home and office. He said he had been troubled by several remarks an investigator made during an informal exchange: once, he was told that his fate was better than that of the Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov; at other points, the investigator asked if he was considering leaving Russia and if he had an alibi. Mr. Guriev said on Tuesday that Mr. Putin's comments were not persuasive, adding that Mr. Putin had made similar remarks in private settings and that "my problems continued and even intensified." "I also heard that he said he would not interfere in the work of the Investigative Committee," Mr. Guriev said by e-mail. I respect this choice. But given what I have seen, I would rather be in a different country.