Court delays decision as Yukos enters discussions RUSSIA:
ByLine: By ANDREW JACK
A Russian court yesterday delayed final judgment on a Dollars 3.4bn tax
evasion charge against the oil group Yukos, as a top official suggested talks
were under way to resolve the crisis.
In the first confirmation by a member of the government of discussions to
keep the group solvent in the wake of growing tax demands, Alexei Kudrin, the
finance minister, said: "Co-operation on the possible settlement of the
claims is under way."
His remarks came after President Vladimir Putin last Thursday sharply
restored investor confidence in Yukos when he told journalists that the
Russian government did not want to see the company go bankrupt.
A Moscow commercial court was due to rule last Friday on the tax
ministry's Dollars 3.4bn claim against Yukos for 2000, which in addition
to an asset-freezing order could have pushed the company into bankruptcy. But
its hearings continued again on Monday and resume today.
However, Mr Kudrin said yesterday: "I think Yukos has enough funds to
pay its liabilities. It can sell its assets on the market to meet
obligations." He added that the government should not need to administer
that process. Through his lawyer, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former chief
executive and largest shareholder, confirmed he and his partners were willing
to assume some obligations to pay off the debts, in a deal that could dilute
their control.
Yukos's management, which operated a telephone hot line yesterday to
reassure investors, said they supported the principles of a deal to settle
the fresh tax claims, which could involve asset sales and the assistance of
their main shareholder.
Bruce Misamore, chief financial officer, said Yukos currently had Dollars 1bn
in cash which could be used towards the tax bill, adding that he was not
aware of any response from the authorities to the company's plans. He
said Yukos has so far repaid Dollars 300m of Dollars 2.6bn in loans, and
agreed further repayments of Dollars 190m.
Separately, German Gref, economics minister, said that there was "a
political element" to the actions surrounding Yukos, while claiming that
it was not the primary reason for the problems at the company in recent
months. Yukos shares rose 7 per cent to close at Dollars 9.25 on the news of
possible negotiations, which also helped lift the market.
Mr Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev are separately set to
appear tomorrow in their trial for fraud and tax evasion, which could result
in imprisonment for up to 10 years and fines of over Dollars 700m.
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