MENATEP STANDS TO LOSE IN LITIGATION WITH RUSSIA

MOSCOW, February 10 (RIA Novosti) -The international MENATEP financial company stands to lose in litigation with Russia refusing to pay it the claimed $28.3b at the minimum for alleged "expropriation of the company's property". This is the prevailing opinion among experts polled by RIA Novosti.

"MENATEP is most unlikely to win in court. It is 99.9 percent certain," says Stanislav Kleshchev of the Financial Bridge investment company.

MENATEP's London-based office reports that the company demands compensation worth the minimum of $28.3 billion on the grounds that the Russian Federation failed to protect the company's investment in Russia and expropriated these investments.

It was on February 8 this year that the company filed a suit against the Russian government at the UN international trade law commission over "the expropriation of the company's property", according to MENATEP's Russia representative Yury Kotler. He specifies the sum of the damage as a difference between the current YUKOS capitalization and its value if there had been no tax claims upon the company.

Kleshchev said that MENATEP had used a provision of the Energy Charter signed but not ratified by Russia, which means that this document is not valid in this country.

In his opinion, the company's behaviour borders on despair and it is not helpful.

Maxim Shein, chief analyst of the Brokercreditservice investment company, too, believes that MENATEP will not be able to uphold its interests in court, if there is any litigation.

"I think that MENATEP will not win in proceedings over its suit against Russia but the decision to uphold its interests to the end commands respect," said Shein.

Metropol investment company expert Yevgeny Sotskov shares the opinion of his colleague, saying that MENATEP's chances to score a victory are very low.

"I don't believe in MENATEP's success in this matter," said Sotskov.

His guess is that the tax claims upon YUKOS andits subsidiaries are exaggerated but if there is a litigation the government will find convincing evidence to prove the fact of the company's tax payment minimization.

Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov told reporters yesterday that he had no information about MENATEP's action against Russia. German Gref, the head of the ministry for economic development, refused to comment on the MENATEP suit because he said he had not seen it.