Russian oil giant sacks its boss

Russian oil giant Yukos has sacked its chief executive Simon Kukes.

A Russian-born American, Mr Kukes had been in the position since November after he took over from founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who remains in prison.

Mr Khodorkovsky, Russia's wealthiest man, is facing trial on a number of fraud and tax evasion charges.

Yukos, which itself faces a $3.4bn tax bill from the Kremlin, has replaced Mr Kukes with the company's chief operating officer, Steven Theede.

The announcement of Mr Kukes's removal was made following the company's annual general meeting.

"My task in my new post is to maintain the leading position of Yukos," said Mr Theede in a statement.

Politically motivated?

The Yukos board also formerly backed management attempts to resolve the dispute with Russian tax officials.

And former Russian central bank chief Victor Gerashchenko was appointed chairman of the Yukos board.

The appointment of Mr Gerashchenko, a former Soviet-era central banker who is said to be close to the current Kremlin, is seen as an attempt by Yukos to cool its heated battle with the Russian government, a fight that has left it facing the risk of bankruptcy.

Many observers see Mr Khodorkovsky's arrest and the giant tax bill as punishment from the Kremlin for Mr Khodorkovsky moving into politics and funding a number of President Putin's political rivals.

After his appointment to the board, Mr Gerashchenko said: "It will be very interesting for me to join a company that despite its difficulties, is still functioning so well."

He was the Soviet Union's last central banker and was also in the position as Russia's economy imploded in the early 1990s.

A prominent Harvard economist once called him the "worst central banker in the world".



HERE