Taxman targets Yukos bank account

Russian oil giant Yukos has said the tax ministry aims to take 79.3bn roubles ($2.7bn) from its accounts without court approval.

Yukos said in a statement that tax officials had decided to treat the payment demand as a "no-contest claim."

The company said it would appeal against the decision, while the tax ministry declined to comment.

The move looks set to intensify a protracted tax dispute which Yukos has warned could bankrupt it.

Earlier this year, the authorities issued Yukos with a $3.4bn tax demand for 2000, which was backed by the courts.

The company, which is legally barred from selling assets to raise cash, has already missed a deadline to settle that bill.

Cash squeeze

The $2.7bn that the tax ministry plans to take from Yukos' accounts covers about two thirds of a separate tax demand for 2001.

The company's total tax bill for 2000 and 2001 now stands at $6.9bn, and it is expected to receive a further demand for 2003.

Analysts say the Russian government's ultimate aim may be to force a sell-off of Yukos' key Siberian oil and gas unit, which accounts for 60% of the company's production.

There has been speculation that the Siberian unit, Yugansk, may be bought by a state-run company, bringing a large chunk of Russia's lucrative oil industry back under government control.

The Russian authorities' crackdown on Yukos began in October last year with the arrest of its former chief executive, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, on fraud and tax evasion charges.

The move was widely seen as a politically-motivated response to Mr Khodorkovsky's support for liberal opposition groups.

Fears that the tax dispute might force Yukos to suspend production has contributed to the recent surge in world oil prices.

The company accounts for about 2% of global oil production.

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