18 June 2004 00:00
Yukos investors ready to dig in: Menatep has international lawyers at hand to take on Moscow in defending its interest in the Russian oil group, writes Andrew Jack
ByLine: By ANDREW JACK
Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Chelsea Football Club, and
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, could both come into the legal sights
of Menatep, the group of core shareholders behind Yukos.
The brinkmanship over the oil group's fate has escalated despite
conciliatory remarks yesterday from Yukos and Mr Putin, and the Menatep
directors appointed at the end of March have adopted a more aggressive and
litigious view.
Tim Osborne, a director of Menatep and senior partner at UK law firm Wiggin
Osborne Fullerlove, hinted to the FT at possible legal action against Russian
authorities and Mr Abramovich to preserve the value of its investments.
Mr Osborne said he had hired two international law firms to prepare potential
litigation against the Russian government in the event that Yukos was driven
into bankruptcy. The company would cite alleged violations of the
state's obligations under bilateral investment treaties.
"We still believe that the Russian government will ultimately behave
honorably. If it doesn't, we have had plenty of advice, and we would
move very quickly," Mr Osborne told the FT.
Bob Amsterdam, a legal adviser to Menatep and Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the man
behind it who is now on trial in Moscow, says: "We are putting on notice
all nations and all potential buyers that might be attracted to a sale of
assets, shares or oil that the present steps orchestrated in concert and
illegally (by the Russian authorities) will be attacked in all
jurisdictions."
He cites the scope for action through international arbitration panels in
violation of Russia's 40 bilateral investment treaties, and through US
courts where claims can be brought against foreign governments for
expropriation.
"This is not a bankruptcy. It is an artificial construct that represents
the cultivation of a premeditated plan of attack orchestrated by the Russian
federation to expropriate Yukos. Under international law, that is called
'illegal taking'," he says.
Mr Osborne also suggests action designed to preserve Yukos's hold over
Sibneft, the Russian oil group controlled by Mr Abramovich, which has blocked
attempts to complete the merger of the two companies agreed last year. That
contradicts statements that Menatep and Mr Abramovich had agreed to demerge.
"I believe that the merger was the correct thing to do and should
continue," says Mr Osborne. "If there is any attempt to sequestrate
or obtain the assets under value from Yukos, people can assume that we will
not take it lying down."
Mr Osborne's remarks reflect a more aggressive strategy adopted at
Menatep since his appointment along with two other directors at the end of
March, triggered by the death in a helicopter crash of Stephen Curtis, the
lawyer who co-ordinated the group's activities.
In an indication of the breakdown in communication in recent months, Mr
Osborne said the Menatep board had not yet discussed any detailed proposals
from Yukos about its tax dispute with the Russian authorities.
Mr Osborne says "it was not right" that Yukos executives had
indicated that they wanted to distance themselves from Menatep, and he plans
to become more closely involved. "The Yukos management does not appear
to have been doing itself any favours. It should have been more aggressive. I
don't understand why it has not been."
However, Mr Osborne stressed that he and his fellow directors took their
instructions from the trustees of Menatep - proxies for Mr Khodorkovsky and
his partners. If he, currently behind bars on fraud charges, shifts his
views, then the hard-nosed rhetoric at Menatep may also shift once more.
www.ft.com/lex
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