Court rejects Yukos appeal, company to pay 99 billion rubles

The Arbitration Court rejected Yukos' appeal of a court order from June 29 and refused to halt the execution of the decision that the company should pay 99.3 billion rubles in back taxes and fines for 2000.

Speaking today at the court, Yukos representatives said that there was a possibility Yukos would sell property. In their opinion, even if the court ruled in their favor on September 6, when an appeal to halt the collection of back taxes will be heard, it would still be to late to reverse the court's decision.

According to lawyers, possible purchasers of Yukos' property, according to Russia law, would be diligent buyers and such sales cannot "win back" money.

Representatives of the Ministry of Taxes and Dues stated that there were no circumstances that would prevent the execution of the court's decision.