Peace moves in Yukos tax crisis

Shares in Yukos, Russia's embattled oil company, continued to rally yesterday as bailiffs struck a more conciliatory tone with the company and its shareholders welcomed a former Canadian prime minister as mediator with the Kremlin.


The share price rose 12 per cent as bailiffs, who come under the Ministry of Justice, hinted that Yukos could pay its tax debts to avoid bankruptcy. Andrei Belyakov, the head of the bailiffs' department at the Ministry of Justice, said he had received assurances from the company that it would do all it could to pay the entire $3.4bn tax bill within a month.

Yukos has already paid some 20 per cent of that. If it does not pay the rest by the end of August, the bailiffs could proceed with the forced sale of its assets.

A person close to Yukos said the company was satisfied with its talks with the bailiffs and would do all it could to pay the entire tax bill over the next few months.

There was also hope that core shareholders including Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former chief executive accused of fraud and tax evasion, could reach agreement with the government about the future of the company with the help of Jean Chrétien, a former prime minister of Canada.

Group Menatep, a holding company trough which Mr Khodorkovsky and his partners hold their controlling stake in Yukos, welcomed Mr Chrétien's initiative. Tim Osborne, managing director of Menatep in London, added: "Yukos executives have said they could be forced to curtail production and oil shipments within the next two weeks if they are not given access to corporate bank accounts and other assets frozen or otherwise blocked by the Russian government."

Mr Chrétien met president Vladimir Putin on July 5, but there was no confirmation that Yukos was a subject of their discussion.

HERE