Russian Officials To Sell YUKOS Subsidiary

Russian officials say they will sell the main production subsidiary of the country's troubled oil firm Yukos.
The Justice Ministry said in a statement Tuesday that shares of Yugansknefetgaz will be turned over to an organization that specializes in sales.

Yukos says the subsidiary is worth more than $30 billion, but reports quote Yukos sources as saying it may be sold for less than $2 billion.

The Justice Ministry also said it recovered $175 million from Yukos for its $3.4 billion tax bill for 2000.

Meanwhile, the tax evasion and fraud trial of former Yukos chief Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his associate, Platon Lebedev, resumed in Moscow.

Critics says the extensive probe is retaliation for Mr. Khodorkovsky's support of the political opposition, but the Kremlin says it is part of an anti-corruption crackdown


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