By James Marson
MOSCOW--Investors in Yukos Oil Co., once Russia's largest oil
company, scored a small but symbolic victory over the Russian state
Thursday, after an international tribunal awarded Spanish minority
shareholders in the company over $2 million in damages from
Russia.
Yukos was liquidated in 2007 and auctioned off, mostly to state
oil company OAO Rosneft (ROSN.RS) to cover back taxes, after its
owner Mikhail Khodorkovsky was jailed on charges of fraud and tax
evasion. He claims it was an attempt to crush political opposition
and re-nationalize his assets.
The Stockholm Chamber of Commerce's Arbitration Institute ruled
that "Yukos' tax delinquency was indeed a pretext for seizing Yukos
assets and transferring them to Rosneft," according to the
tribunal's ruling, seen by Dow Jones Newswires.
"This ruling vindicates the rights of Spanish investors, and
indeed, all investors in Yukos," said Marney Cheek, a partner at
Covington & Burling LLP, which represented the
shareholders.
Russia denies any wrongdoing in the case. In September 2011, the
European Court of Human Rights dismissed Yukos's arguments that the
tax claims and breakup of the company were driven by politics,
while finding that Russian authorities had violated the company's
rights.
The Stockholm tribunal awarded the Spanish shareholders $2
million plus interest since November 2007, when the company was
liquidated. This puts the value of Yukos at the time at $62.1
million, which would be $83 million with interest added.
GML, previously known as Menatep, the main shareholder in Yukos,
is suing Russia for over $100 billion in an international
arbitration under the European Energy Charter Treaty. The hearing
will start in October.
Write to James Marson at james.marson@dowjones.com
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