According to the newspaper, Mr. Gerashchenko will replace Simon Kukes as YUKOS CEO. Mr. Kukes is also President of YUKOS. “These two offices should not be held by one person,” a source told Vedomosti. “Shareholders think Mr. Gerashchenko would be a good choice. He has an impeccable reputation, and he is a good financier. This is what we need now,” he added. The source said Mr. Kukes would remain YUKOS President.

Indeed, Viktor Gerashchenko made a brilliant career of a financier. He was the last Chairman of the State Bank of the USSR. In 1992-1994 and in 1998-2002, Mr. Gerashchenko was Chairman of the Central Bank of Russia. After that he worked at the Central Bank’s Research Institute. In 2003, he was elected to the State Duma as a member of the Rodina bloc.

Mr. Gerashchenko hoped to become Chairman of the State Duma Committee for Banks, but this did not happen. Konstantin Remchukov, ex-deputy of the State Duma, told Vedomosti that Mr. Gerashchenko would have to leave the State Duma if he was appointed YUKOS CEO.

Mr. Gerashchenko himself was not available for comment. Yury Golubev, a member of the YUKOS Board of Directors, neither confirmed nor denied the information about Mr. Gerashchenko’s nomination. He said a list of nominees would be confirmed at a meeting of the company’s Board on April 28, and the final decision would be made at a general meeting. YUKOS spokesman Alexander Shadrin refused to comment. Analysts say the nomination of Mr. Gerashchenko as YUKOS CEO is an “act of despair” on the part of Group Menatep, having a 44.1 percent stake in YUKOS. “Viktor Gerashchenko is a banker well known across the world, and his appointment as YUKOS CEO could help YUKOS settle its relations with foreign creditors,” Sergey Suverov of ZENIT bank told RBC. He added that Mr. Gerashchenko, as a member of the State Duma, was integrated in the political process and had some lobbying power. YUKOS produced 80.8m tons of oil in 2003. Its revenue amounted to $12.2bn in January-September 2003, in accordance with US GAAP, and its net profit was $2.5bn. Sibneft produced 31.4m tons of oil in 2003. Its revenue totaled $3.4bn in the first half of 2003, and its net profit was $1.2bn.

YUKOS has a 92 percent stake in Sibneft, for which he paid $3bn and 26.02 percent of its own shares to Millhouse Capital. But Millhouse Capital demanded a demerger in late 2003. In February 2004, Millhouse Capital and Group Menatep, holding a more than 51 percent stake in YUKOS, signed an agreement on the demerger, but the YUKOS Board did not approve it.

On Monday, a group of commercial banks warned YUKOS of a potential default on a $1bn secured loan it took last year. This move reflects nervousness in the financial community about the company’s future. The nervousness among creditors and rating agencies was caused by a $3.5bn tax claim presented to YUKOS by Russian authorities and a court decision last month to ban any sale or transfer of assets in relation to the claim.