Embattled Russian billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the main owner of oil giant YUKOS, arrived at a court in Moscow yesterday for the opening of his trial on fraud and tax evasion charges.
Khodorkovsky, Russia's richest man, will be tried along with another major shareholder in YUKOS, Platon Lebedev. The trial is seen by many as a government-inspired push to jail Khodorkovsky and strip him of his wealth.
His downfall is said by analysts to be the work of people in the Kremlin who fear he was using his wealth to sway public policy and mount a challenge to their authority.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Khodorkovsky, 40, wearing a brown leather jacket, arrived in a large blue van at a side entrance to the Meschchansky district court in Moscow and was led in by police. Inside the building, he waved to his parents, reporters and lawyers before being led into the courtroom.
The trial, before a panel of three judges, is an important test case for President Vladimir Putin, who has said he wants justice to run its course in the YUKOS affair. He has also warned that tax evasion will not be tolerated and that other captains of industry may face prosecution.
YUKOS shares fell by up to 12 percent on Moscow's Micex stock exchange yesterday after at one point on Tuesday plunging 14 percent to US$6 on the benchmark RTS exchange, its lowest level for more than two years.
Human rights activists accuse Putin of manipulating the judicial process to suit the state's interests. The hearing was part of a two-pronged judicial assault on YUKOS and its owners, which comes to a head this week and could put the company in bankruptcy.
A Moscow court will hear an appeal tomorrow by Russia's tax ministry aimed at forcing YUKOS to pay a US$3.4 billion bill for back taxes immediately.
If the court finds in favour of the tax authorities, as expected, YUKOS says it may go bust because another court has frozen the company's assets, making it impossible for YUKOS to raise enough cash in time to pay the bill.
A member of Khodorkovsky's legal team said he was in little doubt that both men would be convicted and receive jail sentences of up to 10 years.
"They are going to be found guilty," Robert Amsterdam, a Toronto-based lawyer, said.
"It is a show trial to help the government expropriate YUKOS," he said.
Some analysts say that if YUKOS is driven out of business, Khodorkovsky and his associates, who control the oil group through a company called Menatep, will be dispossessed of their prize asset.
Investors appear to be giving up hope of a negotiated settlement with the authorities that could let YUKOS off the hook. "I personally do not see any other scenario apart from bankruptcy," said Stephen Dashevsky, an analyst at Aton brokerage in Moscow.
BOMBARDMENT: Moscow sent more than 440 drones and 32 missiles, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, in ‘one of the most terrifying strikes’ on the capital in recent months A nighttime Russian missile and drone bombardment of Ukraine killed at least 15 people and injured 116 while they slept in their homes, local officials said yesterday, with the main barrage centering on the capital, Kyiv. Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said 14 people were killed and 99 were injured as explosions echoed across the city for hours during the night. The bombardment demolished a nine-story residential building, destroying dozens of apartments. Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble. Russia flung more than 440 drones and 32 missiles at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
‘SHORTSIGHTED’: Using aid as leverage is punitive, would not be regarded well among Pacific Island nations and would further open the door for China, an academic said New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, it said yesterday, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group’s deepening ties with China. A spokesperson for New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand early this month decided to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million (US$11 million) in core sector support funding for this year and next year as it “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.” New Zealand and Australia have become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific
Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki yesterday erupted again with giant ash and smoke plumes after forcing evacuations of villages and flight cancelations, including to and from the resort island of Bali. Several eruptions sent ash up to 5km into the sky on Tuesday evening to yesterday afternoon. An eruption on Tuesday afternoon sent thick, gray clouds 10km into the sky that expanded into a mushroom-shaped ash cloud visible as much as 150km kilometers away. The eruption alert was raised on Tuesday to the highest level and the danger zone where people are recommended to leave was expanded to 8km from the crater. Officers also
ESPIONAGE: The British government’s decision on the proposed embassy hinges on the security of underground data cables, a former diplomat has said A US intervention over China’s proposed new embassy in London has thrown a potential resolution “up in the air,” campaigners have said, amid concerns over the site’s proximity to a sensitive hub of critical communication cables. The furor over a new “super-embassy” on the edge of London’s financial district was reignited last week when the White House said it was “deeply concerned” over potential Chinese access to “the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies.” The Dutch parliament has also raised concerns about Beijing’s ideal location of Royal Mint Court, on the edge of the City of London, which has so
RSS