In another blow for the shattered Russian oil giant Yukos, a Moscow court has ordered a freeze of the main assets still held by the company in response to a lawsuit brought by the firm's former core production unit, company officials said yesterday.
State-run oil producer Rosneft, which now owns the former Yukos unit Yuganskneftegaz, is claiming 163 billion rubles (US$5.9 billion) from Yukos in damages for allegedly paying artificially low prices for crude supplies from the oil-pumping facility.
"We are aware of the ruling," said Yukos spokesman Yevgeny Fokin, adding that he did not have details of the court decision.
The Moscow Arbitration Court issued the ruling, which bars Yukos from disposing of shares in its major remaining subsidiaries including its top two oil production units Tomskneft and Samaraneftegaz and its main refinery, Angarsk, on April 5, the Interfax news agency said.
The ruling did not appear to affect bank accounts held by Yukos and does not cover Yukos' controlling stake in Lithuania's sole refinery, Mazeikiu Nafta, which Russia's No. 1 oil company, Lukoil, is negotiating to purchase, according to Interfax. The Moscow arbitration court is due to examine the damages claim next month.
Yuganskneftegaz, the former crown jewel in the Yukos empire, was sold off in a disputed auction last December against Yukos' US$28 billion back-tax bills. The 1 million-barrel-a-day unit was eventually bought by Rosneft.
The acquisition of Yukos' main oil unit catapulted Rosneft into the ranks of the top five Russian oil producers and stripped Yukos of around 60 percent of its oil production capacity.
The oil company, once the top Russian oil producer, has been dismantled after an onslaught from the state that observers have linked to the political ambitions of its jailed founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky. He is awaiting a verdict next Wednesday in his trial on fraud and tax evasion and faces up to 10 years in prison.
Rosneft alleges that the unit's former owners mismanaged the facility and are also pressing for Yukos to pay the US$5.1 billion that Russia's tax authorities say Yuganskneftegaz owes.
The Chien Feng IV (勁蜂, Mighty Hornet) loitering munition is on track to enter flight tests next month in connection with potential adoption by Taiwanese and US armed forces, a government source said yesterday. The kamikaze drone, which boasts a range of 1,000km, debuted at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition in September, the official said on condition of anonymity. The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology and US-based Kratos Defense jointly developed the platform by leveraging the engine and airframe of the latter’s MQM-178 Firejet target drone, they said. The uncrewed aerial vehicle is designed to utilize an artificial intelligence computer
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday decided to shelve proposed legislation that would give elected officials full control over their stipends, saying it would wait for a consensus to be reached before acting. KMT Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍) last week proposed amendments to the Organic Act of the Legislative Yuan (立法院組織法) and the Regulations on Allowances for Elected Representatives and Subsidies for Village Chiefs (地方民意代表費用支給及村里長事務補助費補助條例), which would give legislators and councilors the freedom to use their allowances without providing invoices for reimbursement. The proposal immediately drew criticism, amid reports that several legislators face possible charges of embezzling fees intended to pay
REQUIREMENTS: The US defense secretary must submit a Taiwan security assistance road map and an appraisal of Washington’s ability to respond to Indo-Pacific conflict The US Congress has released a new draft of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes up to US$1 billion in funding for Taiwan-related security cooperation next year. The version published on Sunday by US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson removed earlier language that would have invited Taiwan to participate in the US-led Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC). A statement on Johnson’s Web page said the NDAA “enhances U.S. defense initiatives in the Indo-Pacific to bolster Taiwan’s defense and support Indo-Pacific allies.” The bill would require the US secretary of defense to “enable fielding of uncrewed and anti-uncrewed systems capabilities”
Renewed border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia showed no signs of abating yesterday, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people in both countries living in strained conditions as more flooded into temporary shelters. Reporters on the Thai side of the border heard sounds of outgoing, indirect fire yesterday. About 400,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas in Thailand and about 700 schools closed while fighting was ongoing in four border provinces, said Thai Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, a spokesman for the military. Cambodia evacuated more than 127,000 villagers and closed hundreds of schools, the Thai Ministry of Defense said. Thailand’s military announced that
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