"It is for the first time after a long period that very important petitions filed by the defense have been met," said the lawyer. This Friday the Meshchansky Court met about 40 petitions to add up to the criminal case a number of documents filed by the defense.
The lawyer claims that the documents filed disprove the infliction of any damage upon the state by using bills instead of money for tax payment in the restricted administrative territorial enclave "Lesnoi". Besides, the documents contain evidence refuting the waste of funds by transferring them to Vladimir Gusinsky-controlled Most Group.
"Anyway these documents can be effective in considering the civil suit against Khodorkovsky and his responsibility," said Padva.
The party for the prosecution argues that Khodorkovsky and a group of accomplices inflicted major damage upon the state by YUKOS bill remittance as tax payment. Under the indictment, Khodorkovsky committed an offence since taxes should be paid, according to the prosecution, only with money.
At the same time, the court refused Friday to meet a petition on striking some of the evidence off the case. The defense of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev asked for excluding all proof concerning the charges according to the Russian Federation Criminal Code's article 160 (misappropriation and embezzlement), article 198 (tax evasion by private persons) and article 327 (forgery, manufacture and sale of forged documents).
The court turned down the said petitions on excluding the materials from the case as groundless.
