Yukos to file 20-billion-dollar claim against Russian state

AFP ^ | Fri Jan 7

[Grzegorz 246]

PARIS (AFP) - The beleagured Russian oil giant Yukos has said it will file a 20-billion-dollar (15-billion-euro) damage claim against the Russian government and other parties that had a hand in the forced auction of its chief production unit, a report said.

The Financial Times newspaper said late Thursday in its on-line edition that the claim would lodged just ahead of a February 16 court hearing in Houston, Texas on a bankruptcy petition by Yukos.

Yukos last month sought bankruptcy protection from a Houston court in a bid to thwart the auction of its core asset, Yuganskneftegaz, which had pumped millions of barrels a day for Yukos.

The unit had been siezed by the Russian government and put up for sale to help pay billions of dollars in back taxes that the state says it is owed by Yukos.

A previously unknown group, Baikalfinansgroup, bought Yugansknefetaz at a secretive auction December 19 for 9.35 billion dollars.

Another Russian oil company, Rosneft, which is soon to merge with state-controlled gas provider Gazprom to form a new state-run energy corporation, subsequently announced it had bought Baikalfinansgroup.

The controversial sale was denounced by Yukos and other critics who saw it as a transparent attempt to silence the political ambitions of its founder, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, currently on trial on fraud charges.

Yukos, according to the Financial Times, will add Rosneft, Gazprom, Gazpromneft and Baikalfinansgroup to its damage claim.