Yukos owner sues Russia for $28bn
The main owner of Yukos, Menatep, said it served a damages claim of $28.3 billion against the Russian government on Wednesday for expropriating its investment in the stricken oil company.
Tim Osborne, Menatep's managing director, told Reuters the claim rested on the allegation that Russia reneged on its duties under the Energy Charter, an international treaty designed to enforce international law in energy investments.
"We served a notice of arbitration on the Russian Federation ... That number (of $28.3 billion) will get more precise as we go through the forensic accounting exercises to calculate the loss of profits," said Osborne.
"At the moment, that figure is the loss of share value from its (Yukos stock) peak to today plus an estimate of what we think the share price would have been had the Russian government not interfered."
A Menatep statement said the claims would be handled through the arbitration rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law.
Officials at the Russian government declined to comment.
The move marks further internationalization of the Yukos affair, which has already damaged investor confidence, triggering billions of dollars of capital flight and raising serious questions about the rule of law in Russia.
"The claim will be an additional reason for international investors to remain cautious about Russia," Alfa Bank said.
Jamie Firestone, a lawyer with U.S. law firm Firestone Duncan, which is not involved in the case, said there could be years of litigation: "Global litigation is going to go on and on and on."
Menatep alleges that Yukos was worth $17 billion in October 2003, just before the arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who founded Yukos and Menatep, for fraud and tax evasion.
Yukos has been crushed by a $27.5 billion tax claim by the state, while Khodorkovsky is on trial, facing 10 years in jail if convicted in what he claims is a politically motivated case.
The firm's main oil production unit, Yuganskneftegaz, was returned to state ownership in a forced sale in December and is now controlled by state oil firm Rosneft.
The auction of Yugansk was the climax of a Kremlin campaign to destroy the politically ambitious Khodorkovsky and regain control over the energy sector, which it lost in the 1990s asset sales.
In addition to:
Message 21024705
"Mr. Brudno and Mr. Dubov were investors in his investment company, Group Menatep. Russia's general prosecutor charged Mr. Brudno last year with misappropriation of property and Mr. Dubov with fraud, and placed them both on an Interpol wanted list. It is unclear how binding the list is among member countries.
The two fled to Israel last year and obtained Israeli citizenship."
Just like that!
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