27 April 2004 23:16
Tax bill may force Yukos to default
Banks have warned Russian oil group Yukos that it is at risk of defaulting on a $1bn (pounds 560m) loan if it is
forced to comply with an order from the tax authorities for $3.5bn.
The crisis could play into the hands of Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich, who has been trying to unwind a
merger between his Sibneft oil firm and Yukos.
Shares in Yukos fell 10% to 320.1 roubles in Moscow following the concerns expressed by Citibank, Deutsche Bank and
HSBC.
Standard & Poor's agency earlier slashed its rating on Yukos but a spokesman from the company tried to
steady market nerves.
"This notice does not mean that the banks demand an early loan redemption or want to freeze our accounts,"
said Alexander Shadrin.
This morning Bruce Misamore, the Yukos finance director, is in London to persuade western investors that his firm
will be able to successfully fight the claim from the Russian authorities.
Some analysts say the charge for unpaid taxes, surcharges and fines could bankrupt the group, but Yukos has argued it
is "illegal and unfounded".
Meanwhile Yukos dismissed speculation that Mr Abramovich could be in discussions about the sale of a 25% stake in the
Sibneft oil company he used to control to Total of France.
"There cannot be talk about a disposal because you cannot sell something you don't own," said a Yukos
spokeswoman in London.
Yukos purchased a 92% stake in Sibneft in 2003 but Mr Abramovich has been trying to unwind the deal because of
problems that have since troubled Yukos.
The most serious of these has been the imprisonment on fraud charges of its former chief executive, Mikhail
Khodorkovsky.
The Financial Times reported yesterday that Total had won backing from the Kremlin to buy a quarter of Sibneft in a
deal that would be worth $4bn.
But a number of American firms - including ChevronTexaco and ExxonMobil - are known to be keen to buy a holding in
Sibneft, as is Shell.
Total and Sibneft refused to comment yesterday.
The future of the $11bn merger between Yukos and Sibneft could depend on the outcome of a Moscow court hearing
tomorrow into the validity of a new share issue with which Yukos has partly paid for Sibneft.
There is also a Yukos board meeting at which Sibneft supporters could put forward new proposals for splitting the
companies' merger.
[The Guardian] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
