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Officials of the Main Department for Tax Crimes and the Main Legal Department of the Russian Interior Ministry are conducting a search of the YUKOS’s head office in Moscow, Tatyana Mironenko, a spokeswoman for the Federal Service for Economic and Tax Crimes, told RBC.
She said the raid was part of an investigation into charges that the company's subsidiaries – Tomskneft and Samaraneftegas - evaded taxes.
YUKOS spokesman Alexander Shadrin said the number of investigative actions against YUKOS “exceeded all limits”. According to him, tax inspectors are seizing documents as part of an investigation into tax payments by Tomskneft and Samaraneftegaz. He said only paper documents were being seized. Mr. Shadrin stressed that the company continued to work as normal despite the raid.
On April 15, the Moscow Arbitration Court banned YUKOS from selling or mortgaging its assets including shares, at the request of the Tax Ministry, which is claiming RUR 99bn (about $3.5bn) in unpaid taxes from the company.
In addition, the court banned any changes to the company’s register of shareholders related to operations with YUKOS stocks. There measures will be applied until there is a decision on the tax claim.
In December 2003, the Tax Ministry completed the inspection of YUKOS’s tax payments in 2000. On December 29, the company received the results of the inspection, saying that it was guilty of wrongdoing and owed the state more than RUR 98bn in unpaid taxes and interest.
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RUSSIA IN FACTS
