"I saw the Apatite working better and better with every passing year. Its output was steadily rising," said Anatoli Pozdnyakov, once boss of the Murmansk-based company.
"Before it was privatised, the company had to shift to wage payments once a month [from Russia's customary fortnightly schedule]. There were back wages, even. Once the Apatite passed into private hands, our investors were of great help not merely to pay wages in time but with taxes, too."
Prosecutor Dmitri Shokhin sprang at the witness' idyllic reminiscences to point out major discrepancies between what Pozdnyakov had been saying at preliminary investigation and today in court.
Thus, when questioned by investigators, the witness assumed the Menatep bank not Volna Co. was actual purchaser of a 20% Apatite block. Today, Pozdnyakov confessed he had been misinformed.
"But then, the Volna made the smallest investment bid of all competitors. Just how did it win the contest?" the prosecutor cut in, at that.
The witness failed to make an explanation. "It was all too long ago-I can't be sure now," he brought out.
Unlucky Pozdnyakov's questioning lasted eight hours on end. At last, celebrated Heinrich Padva, one of the defendants' attorneys, appealed for a break in the session. "I'm worn out. I can't go on working like that," he complained.
The hearings will resume Monday next, August 23, with reading Pozdnyakov's questioning record of preliminary investigation.
The federal top prosecutor's experts accuse billionaires Khodorkovsky, Lebedev and Krainov of fraudulent acquisition of the government-held 20% Apatite block of shares. They are suspected of swindles, failure to comply with a court verdict, private and corporate tax dodging, material damage through fraud and breach of trust, paper forgery, and property misappropriation-seven Criminal Code clauses, all told.
