Additionally, the finance minister gave a warning to the business community that it was time to learn the lesson, as sanctions against tax evaders would be toughened further.

As for YUKOS, Kudrin remarked that claims that had been made against this company were just the beginning. The minister underscored that this remark applied only to the tax aspects of the case against the oil company. The finance minister added that this issue had been disclosed, and now the depute was likely to be resolved in court.

“If you mean to ask whether sanctions for tax evasion will be stopped in our country, I can declare that tax evaders will always be subject to prosecution in Russia, as well as in any other civilized country,” Kudrin promised.

According to the minister, YUKOS believes it has legally avoided taxes, and the Tax Ministry thinks it was illegal. “The Tax Ministry believes it can prove in court that the deals were not in the interests of trade and the company but exclusively in the interests of tax evasion, and the Tax Ministry is entitled to defend its position,” he told Kommersant.

Kudrin pointed out that there had been examples of formally correct deals that were declared void for some reasons in Russia. For example, he referred to the Baikonur case against well-known oil company LUKoil, won by the Tax Ministry.

According to the finance minister, formally, LUKoil did everything correctly, but the tax agency provided evidence that firms registered at Baikonur were just shell companies for avoiding taxes. “In fact, their companies, which in reality had just desks and chairs, had enormous sales volumes, they leased refineries, refined oil and derived profits from this business. It was found out that this was a classic scheme for tax evasion, all these leasing and sales contracts could be considered fictitious, and companies at Baikonur were just shell firms. LUKoil has accepted these conclusions and decided to pay (the unpaid taxes),” Kudrin emphasized.