As the ministry says in a press release, it suspects the Yukos of using men-of-straw to register oil and petrochemical product transactions in those branches, established for the purpose. The affiliates based in Russian regions and cities that offered soft taxation the ministry considers ungrounded. These were Mordovia and Kalmykia-republics within Russia, the subarctic Evenki autonomous area, several areas of restricted admittance, and the Baikonur space centre Russia is renting from Kazakhstan.
The ministry forwarded an initial fiscal check report for 2001 to the Yukos, July 1. It evaluated back taxes at a milder 98 billion roubles, fines considered. The Yukos brought an appeal, July 15.
The ministry hit back with another check, Anton Ustinov, its legal board chief, announced early in August. He said tax evasion techniques the controversial company had been using were too subtle for one check to bring to surface.
