15 May 2004 01:50
Ex-Yukos chief to face charges of Dollars 1bn fraud KHODORKOVSKY TRIAL:
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russia's richest man and former chief executive
and largest shareholder in the oil group Yukos, faces trial without jury this
summer on fraud charges totalling Dollars 1bn (Euros 845m, Pounds 565m) after
prosecutors finalised the case against him yesterday.
He is accused of membership of "an organised group" which
manipulated the privatisation of the fertiliser group Apatit, non-payment of
taxes and other violations in charges dating back as far as 1994.
The move reflects the determination of the Russian authorities to push ahead
with a criminal case against Mr Khodorkovsky, despite a widespread belief the
case against him is politically motivated. Prosecutors insist they acted
entirely in accordance with the law.
Anton Drel, Mr Khodorkovsky's lawyer, who had only limited time to work
through the 227 volumes of documents assembled by the prosecutors in recent
weeks, said: "These charges are absurd. They are absolute
nonsense."
He said he expected Mr Khodorkovsky's trial to take place during June or
July ahead of that of his business partner Platon Lebedev, and expressed the
hope three judges rather than a single one would rule on the case.
Yesterday's action comes after the latest in a series of rejections of
pleas to release him on bail from a detention centre in Moscow where he has
been held since his arrest last October. Mr Lebedev has been held in
detention since July.
Prosecutors froze more than 40 per cent of Yukos shares they claim are
controlled by Mr Khodorkovsky and his partners, and won co-operation to block
a further Dollars 5bn in assets in Switzerland.
Separately, a Moscow commercial court began hearings yesterday on more than
Dollars 3bn in tax evasion charges against Yukos for 2000. Officials have
indicated more claims may follow for subsequent years.
In a further challenge for Yukos management and shareholders, there will be
proceedings at the end of this month arising from demands by Roman
Abramovich, former owner of Sibneft, the oil company that merged with Yukos
last year, that the deal be unwound.
Shares in Yukos recently rose on speculation that Mr Khodorkovsky was close
to reaching a deal with the Russian authorities, after he published an
article supporting President Vladimir Putin and expressing regret for the
cut-price 1990s privatisations in which he participated.
His advisers say he was also behind the nomination of Viktor Gerashchenko,
the former central bank governor, as chairman of Yukos board, ahead of the
annual general meeting next month. Mr Gerashchenko is seen as a compromise
figure who might be able to negotiate a deal with the authorities.
According to an estimate published by Forbes magazine, Mr Khodorkovsky is
worth more Dollars 15bn, largely through ownership of Yukos shares, although
advisers claim he is no longer beneficial owner.
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