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The lawyers of the YUKOS oil company filed a motion to disqualify judges hearing the case of the Russian Tax Ministry against YUKOS. Deputy Chairman of the Moscow Arbitration Court will decide on the disqualification.
YUKOS lawyer Sergey Pepelyayev read a statement from the judges which gave reason to doubt their impartiality.
According to YUKOS lawyers, the court twice rejected the company’s appeals to delay Friday’s hearings for a month. The lawyers say they need more time to study the materials of the case and prepare for the hearing.
On Friday, Moscow Arbitration Court rejected YUKOS’s appeal and approved a claim by the Tax Ministry that the company pay RUR 99.3bn (about $3.4bn) in back taxes and fines for 2000.
The conflict between the Tax Ministry and YUKOS began at the end of last year, when the Tax Ministry completed the inspection of YUKOS’a tax payments for 2000. YUKOS is accused of evading taxes through artificially created companies registered in Russian regions and cities unlawfully offering additional tax breaks.
On December 29, the company received the results of the inspection, saying that it was guilty of wrongdoing and owed the state more than RUR 98bn in unpaid taxes and interest. Later, it raised the claim to RUR 99.3bn. On May 26, 2004, the Moscow Arbitration Court ruled that YUKOS should pay the money.
In mid-April, the court banned YUKOS from selling or mortgaging its assets including shares, at the request of the Tax Ministry.
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RUSSIA IN FACTS
