Russia intends to discharge the favorable decision on YUKOS
The following decision was made according to three active claims in the Arbitration Court from former shareholders who claime in general $114 billion.
Russia sees the political roots of the following decision and intends to appeal against the decision. The former YUKOS share-holders intend to claim the total reimbursement otherwise to persecute the Russian assets abroad.
"The Arbitration decision became a kind of "penny from heaven" - claims Leonid Nevzlin.
The case from Group Menatep Limited, a company which represents the former share- holders interests, was commenced in 2007 which means after four years after the YUKOS head Mikhail Hadarkovsky was prisoned for tax default and five years after the main Yukos asset Uganskneftegaz was brought to the hammer for $9,3 billion. During the trial of the case GML that controlled more than 70% of company's shares acted for Cyprus YUKOS Universal and Hulley Enterprises (the direct parent companies), further the Veteran Petroleum had joined them. In its first claim GML has amounted it's losses for $28,3 billion. Further the datum was increased to $103 billion.
The Court began to hear a case since 2009 after two years after YUKOS was announced bankrupt.
The representatives of GML considers that the accusations of tax default were false and were made in order to expropriate the company. The Russian lawyers had based the case on the evidence that there was no expropriation with legal bases for YUKOS being bankrupt. According to GML, the same case was witnessed when Ugandkneftegaz has passed into state ownership. As a result the Arbitration has admitted the Russian government actions as a full scale attack against YUKOS in order to make it bankrupt even though admitted that YUKOS tried to evade taxes through the shell companies in Mordovia.
The Arbitration has decided that Russia made an expropriation of investments which is against article 45 of the Energy Charter (Russia has signed it in 1990 but didn't ratified). The majority of reimbursement ($39,97 billion) is supposed to go to Hulley Enterprises Limited, that is connected to YUKOS share- holders and which was renamed for Group Menatep Limited (GML). The other $8,2 billion is supposed to go to Cyprus Veteran Petroleum, which had a pensionary function for the former YUKOS employees. As for the registered in the isle of Man offshore- Yukos Universal Limited, the reimbursement for it amounts to $1,85 billion.
Russia should also reimburse $64 million for the legal consulting services. According to the Court Russia should pay for damages within 180 days (till January 15, 2014). In case if the reimbursement is not paid the interest will be charged on it: firstly on January 15 in amount of decennial US ministry of Finance bonds with the same payment during further years. 70% of GML shares were after Mikhail Hodorkovsky. After his arrest Mr. Hodorkovsky gave his authorities to Leonid Nevzlin. "GML is satisfied with the decision and plans to persecute Russian assets all over the world"- says Tim Osbourne.
"I hope that Russian government enforces the court decision and pays the reimbursement"- says Mr. Nevzlin. "I don't want my people or me to make warfare with Russia. It's not a war, we will simply search and block credit balances"- reports Mr. Nevzlin. Still GML representative doesn't exclude the chance of purchasing the right for charge from Russia of $50 billion.
"There are people who deal with such cases, for us it is the moral aspect which is of high concern. Still the financial aspect is important as well", - says the Shearman & Stearling advocate Emanuel Gillar. The deputy of the minister of finance, Sergey Storchak, has said to ITAR- TASS that Russia intends to discharge the favorable decision on YUKOS. This is supposed to be a procedure of annulation". The ministry of Finance has highlighted that "the decision contradicts to the conclusions of two assemblings of chambers of European Courton of Human Rights".
"The European Court has twice recognized that YUKOS had twice evaded taxes and that the share-holders were informed about it. The additional charge of tax was substantiated and the company was not discriminated", -says the Ministry's report.
The Ministry has also added that the Arbitration Court had no such a right for decision- making as Russia has denied the Energy Charter moreover Russia had never authorized the Arbitration Court hearing as it contradicts to Russian legislation. Dmitry Gololobov, the former lawyer of YUKOS, considers that appeal hearing will take a lot of time, at least 1,5 years".
