Russian police raid Yukos offices

Police in Moscow have raided the headquarters of the embattled Russian oil company, Yukos.
Yukos spokesman Alexander Shadrin said the law enforcement officers had come to take control of the building.

He said vital computer servers had been seized, adding that this could result in oil production being rapidly halted.

The raid follows Yukos' warning that it is on the brink of ruin after tax authorities froze its accounts and threatened to seize its assets.


The company's major shareholder, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, is on trial on charges of fraud and tax evasion. The trial of the oil billionaire will restart on 12 July.

Co-ordination 'damaged'

Dozens of law enforcement officials wearing civilian clothes have been searching the Yukos building. Riot police have lined up outside.

The Russian Prosecutor-General's Office confirmed that the offices were being searched in connection with tax irregularities.


Some reports suggest that the doors to offices are being sealed.

Documents have reportedly been seized and taken away.

Mr Shadrin was quoted as saying that Yukos employees would not try to resist any police takeover, but warned that production could stop almost immediately as a result of the raid.

"Our central dispatch unit responsible for oil production is in this building," he said.

"Confiscating servers means damaging the co-ordination of production in our core regions [in Siberia]. This means output may stop as soon as today."

Yukos has said that with its accounts frozen it cannot sell off assets to meet the $3.4bn bill, for 2000 back taxes.

The Moscow Arbitration Court has given the company until Wednesday to pay the bill.

On Thursday it offered to provide a 35% stake in the oil company Sibneft as collateral against payment of the bill, but this was apparently ignored by bailiffs.

Yukos may also face a similar tax bill for 2001.

'No state interest'

Correspondents say Yukos' legal troubles are widely seen as revenge for the political ambitions of Mr Khodorkovsky, who was arrested last year.


Mr Khodorkovsky had been funding political groups opposed to President Vladimir Putin.

Mr Putin has said he has no interest in Yukos, which currently pumps almost one barrel in every five that Russia produces, going bust.

Rather, the belief among many observers is that the government wants to force its owners to cede control.

The case has disturbed foreign investors worried about state interference in the legal process.

Also on trial is Platon Lebedev, the chairman of the Menatep Group - the vehicle through which Mr Khodorkovsky controls Yukos.

On Thursday, Mr Lebedev was moved from a medical ward to a common cell with up to 20 other inmates.

The move, his lawyers said, was designed to apply pressure on him and "deprive him of the possibility of taking an active part in the trial".

HERE