Is Yukos nearing bankruptcy?

Yukos expects notification about a default on a $1.6 billion loan, said a Yukos spokesman.

"We will not be surprised to receive another notification in the next few days," he said.

(Late last week, the spokesman said that Yukos had received a notification on the default on a syndicated loan to the sum of $1 billion provided last autumn.

"The main reason for the notification was the tax ministry's demand of April 14, 2004 that Yukos pay taxes, fees and fines to the amount of 99,375,538,234 rubles, and also the ruling of the Moscow Arbitration Court of April 15, 2004 to freeze the company's assets," runs the company's press release.

According to the company's creditors and rating agencies, the tax ministry's moves reduced Yukos's solvency and aroused serious concerns in a number of the largest international financial organizations.

Societe Generale S. A. is the coordinator bank, agent and authorized organizer of this loan. Other authorized organizers include Citibank N. A., Commerzbank AG, Credit Lyonnais S. A., Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC Bank Plc, ING Bank N. V., KBC Bank N. V., BNP Paribas, and UFJ Bank Nederland N. V.)

In May, Yukos received a notification from a creditor about a possible default on a pre-export loan to the sum of $1.6 billion.

The creditor allowed Yukos and its associated companies to conduct unlimited export trade operations linked to the loan at issue.

At the same time, the creditor can apply its rights in relation to the bank accounts, where the circulated funds are laid down as a guarantee of the loan.

The organizer bank of the loan is SG Corporate and Investment Banking. The loan to the sum of $1.6 billion was provided to Yukos on the same conditions as the $1 billion loan.