Home>News Center>World
         
 

Russian YUKOS owner on trial 8 months after arrest
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-06-16 08:50

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the main owner of oil giant YUKOS, goes on trial on Wednesday in what many see as a government-inspired campaign to jail the nation's richest business tycoon and despoil him of his wealth.

The downfall of Khodorkovsky, the foremost of Russia's fabulously rich oligarchs, is said by analysts to be the work of people in the Kremlin who fear he was using his wealth to sway public policy and mount a challenge to their authority.

Khodorkovsky will be tried along with his close business associate Platon Lebedev, also a major shareholder in YUKOS, at the Meschchansky district court in Moscow on seven counts of fraud and tax evasion.

The trial is an important test-case for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has said he wants justice to run its course in the YUKOS affair. He has also warned tax evasion will not be tolerated and other captains of industry may face prosecution.

Human rights activists accuse Putin of manipulating the judicial process to suit the state's interests.

Wednesday's hearing is part of a two-pronged judicial assault on YUKOS and its owners which comes to a head this week and could pitch the company into bankruptcy.

A Moscow court will hear an appeal on Friday by Russia's tax ministry aimed at forcing YUKOS to pay a $3.4 billion bill for back taxes immediately.

If the court finds in favor of the tax authorities, as expected, YUKOS says it may go bust because another court has frozen the company's assets, making it impossible for YUKOS to raise enough cash in time to pay the tax bill.

LAWYER EXPECTS CONVICTION

A member of Khodorkovsky's legal team said he was in little doubt both men would be convicted and receive jail sentences of up to 10 years.

"They are going to be found guilty. We know the outcome," Robert Amsterdam, a Toronto-based lawyer, told Reuters. "It is a show trial to help the government expropriate YUKOS," he added.

Some analysts believe that if YUKOS is driven out of business, Khodorkovsky and his associates, who control the oil group through a company called Menatep, will be dispossessed of their prize asset.

Investors appear to be giving up hope of any chance of a negotiated settlement with the authorities that could let YUKOS off the hook. YUKOS shares on Tuesday were at one point 14 percent down at $6 on Moscow's RTS exchange, its lowest level for more than two years. "I personally do not see any other scenario apart from bankruptcy," said Stephen Dashevsky, an oil and gas analyst at Aton brokerage in Moscow.

Opinions differ on whether a broken YUKOS would be taken over as a going concern by court-appointed administrators or carved up with the choicest morsels being thrown to Russian state energy enterprises such as Gazprom or Rosneft.

Amsterdam said he believed the trial could be adjourned for a number of days to enable a member of Lebedev and Khodorkovsky's defense team to recover from medical treatment.

Khodorkovsky's trial will be the most prominent of a business figure since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Khodorkovsky has been held in pretrial detention since his arrest in October and Lebedev since last July.

Some western lawyers say Lebedev and Khodorkovsky, accused of making liberal use of offshore financial havens to conceal profits and minimize tax payments, may have a case to answer.

The two face seven criminal charges, including one of fraudulently obtaining shares in Apatit, a fertilizer firm which was privatized in 1994

Lawyers, acting for Khodorkovsky and Lebedev, say the defendants acted within the law.

 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

China opposes US bill to help Taiwan join WHO

 

   
 

Oil drilling deal inked with Uzbekistan

 

   
 

Two corrupt media pros punished

 

   
 

Compensate passengers for delayed flights

 

   
 

Education on AIDS to be compulsory

 

   
 

US general: I'm told to treat POWS like 'dog'

 

   
  Russian YUKOS owner on trial 8 months after arrest
   
  Bush on Saddam handover: Must stay in jail
   
  Al-Qaeda group threatens to kill US hostage
   
  Iraq wants Saddam by end of the month
   
  Report: Evidence shows Sept. 11 attacks were delayed
   
  Afghan leader calls for NATO to send more troops
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  Related Stories  
   
Russia's richest man to be tried
   
Russia prosecutors say seized more YUKOS papers
   
Russia central bank deputy fears capital flight
   
Russian-born American heads YUKOS
   
Khodorkovsky quits as YUKOS chief
   
New Kremlin head casts doubt on YUKOS prosecutors
   
Russia faces fallout from YUKOS share seizure
  News Talk  
  Does the approval of UN resolution on Iraq end daily bloodshed there?  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 人人澡人人澡人人看添av| 国产精品一区二区四区| 久久大香香蕉国产| 浪小辉chinese野战做受| 国产主播福利精品一区二区| 18禁裸男晨勃露j毛免费观看| 成**人特级毛片www免费| 亚洲av专区无码观看精品天堂| 精品国产免费人成网站| 国产成人免费高清在线观看| 99久久综合精品五月天| 无遮无挡非常色的视频免费| 亚洲国产亚洲综合在线尤物| 精品国产青草久久久久福利| 国产福利1000| h无遮挡男女激烈动态图| 日本性生活网站| 亚洲女初尝黑人巨高清| 精品国产欧美sv在线观看| 国产成人无码网站| japanese老熟妇乱子伦视频| 日本成人福利视频| 亚洲成av人片在线观看无| 精品国产一区二区三区AV性色| 国产好爽…又高潮了毛片| 99re久久在热线播放最新地址 | 67194成手机免费观看| 新视觉yy6080私人影院| 亚洲伊人色一综合网| 玩物无删减版180分钟| 国产乱人伦偷精精品视频| 色www永久免费| 天天躁狠狠躁狠狠躁性色av| 久久久久久不卡| 欧美bbbbbxxxxx| 人妻人人澡人人添人人爽人人玩| 色综合91久久精品中文字幕| 国产精品videossex国产高清| 99视频在线免费看| 成人免费视频软件网站| 久久噜噜噜久久亚洲va久|