Khodorkovsky De Facto Stole Yukos Shares From Russian Gov't - Investigators

Russian businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky had de facto stolen Yukos oil company shares from the state, the Russian Investigative Committee said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Arrested in Russia on October 25, 2003, Khodorkovsky spent 10 years in a prison for fraud and tax evasion before being pardoned. Following his release he left the country.

In December 2015, a Russian court charged Khodorkovsky, who was then in London, in absentia for organizing the 1998 murder of Vladimir Petukhov, the mayor of the western Siberian town of Nefteyugansk. In 2007, former Yukos security head Alexei Pichugin was convicted of planning the mayor's killing.

"At the current stage, we cannot speak about all the evidence gathered by the investigation, but there is enough to conclude that Khodorkovsky, having obtained shares from the government without investing anything, de facto stealing them, is now once again trying to deceive the state by claiming a further $50 billion from it," committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said.

"Khodorkovsky, having acquired undervalued Yukos shares, was deceptive in pledging an investment of $350 million towards the company's development, which he did not go through with," he added.

In February, Russia sent a request to the global police service, Interpol, asking for Khodorkovsky to be placed on the international wanted list.

The 1995 privatization of now defunct energy giant Yukos was carried out in violation of antitrust laws, Russia's Investigative Committee said.

"According to the investigation, the 1995 privatization of Yukos was carried out in violation of competition and antitrust legislation. Mikhail Khodorkovsky's team falsely presented two firms de facto belonging to him — JSC Laguna and JSC Reagent — as independent legal entities for the investment competition," committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said.

Companies that filed lawsuits to The Hague arbitration court over the Yukos case had no right to do so due to fraud, making the court's decision unenforceable, Russian Investigative Committee said Friday.

According to committee spokesman Vladimir Markin, after Yukos shares were "de facto stolen" by Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his accomplices, they repeatedly changed hands between Russian and foreign legal entities before eventually being acquired by Hulley Enterprises Ltd, Yukos Universal Ltd and Veteran Petroleum Ltd.

"All these companies were also controlled by Khodorkovsky and payments were only made on paper, they did not in fact take place" he said.

"These companies were not investors and they had no right to file a lawsuit with the international arbitration court in The Hague, claiming their rights as investors were violated. Therefore, the court's decision is not enforceable," Markin underscored.