Khodorkovsky trial recessed until August 12

The trial of ex-Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Menatep head Platon Lebedev and former Volna chief Andrei Krainov has been recessed until August 12, presiding judge Irina Kolesnikova announced at the end of today's hearings at Moscow's Meshchansky court.

She did not elaborate on the reason for her decision.

On Friday, public prosecutor Dmitry Shokhin read out the conclusions of a comprehensive economic and bookkeeping examination carried out on the request of the Prosecutor General's Office in August 2003.

The experts were asked two questions: how would Apatit's net profits for 2000-2003 have changed if the enterprise had marketed apatite concentrate at prices quoted by the consumer plant and at an export price of $45 per metric ton; and what would the net profit for January-September 2002 have been if the company marketed apatite concentrate on its own, without intermediaries, at consumer plant prices, and exported it at $45 per metric ton.

The experts concluded that Apatit's net profit for 2000-2002 would have increased by 6.16 billion rubles ($1 is approximately 29 rubles), and its net profit for January-September, with the indicated conditions observed, would have been 2.19 billion rubles.

Mr. Lebedev and Mr. Khodorkovsky have each been indicted under seven articles of the Criminal Code, including tax evasion and embezzlement.

According to the indictment, in 1994, Mr. Khodorkovsky and Mr. Lebedev acquired a 20% stake in Apatit through fraud. The investigation said Mr. Khodorkovsky violated part 3 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code and Mr. Lebedev violated part 4 of Article 159. If convicted, both men face up to 10 years in prison, as the crime they were indicted for is grave.