Yukos to send 40 Russian regions to the bottom: Collapse of the colossus

A Moscow court arrested 76 billion rubles on accounts of Yukos's basic enterprises

Seventy-six billion rubles on Yukos's accounts have been arrested. The arrest blocked the accounts of the giant's branch enterprises and deprived them of the opportunity to effect payments, including salary payments.

The Office of the Prosecutor General charged the general director of the company Yukos-FBC (the company provides accounting services to the oil giant), Irina Golub, with tax evasion in the sum of 76 billion rubles.

”Investigators believe the accountant did not only avoid tax payments, but appropriated all 76 billion rubles. Investigators, however, do not accuse Irina Golub of the embezzlement, albeit they affirm she transferred the money on the accounts of branch companies,” a statement from the company runs.

One of Moscow district courts arrested 76 billion rubles on accounts of Yukos's basic enterprises. The arrest also blocked tax payments and the payments connected with the current industrial activity. The direct arrest of the accounts is likely to incite the aggravation of the social situation in the regions, where the oil giant runs its activity. In addition, it will also cause considerable damage to the financial state of the Samara, Tomsk and Irkutsk regions, as well as to the Khanty-Mansiisk and Evenkiya autonomous regions.

Over 40 Russian regions are likely to suffer from interrupted deliveries of fuel and petroleum products, RBC reports. Yukos owed 99 billion of back taxes to the state for the year 2000 alone. Numerous attempts to start payments by installments failed, Yukos found itself of the edge of bankruptcy. The company has already paid about $2 billion. The debt would have been cleared by the end of this month, if the company’s accounts had not been arrested. Yukos's law-abiding behavior has deprived the Russian government of the possibility to bring the oil giant under the hammer (the buyer would be known prior to the auction, of course).

The stock market reacted to the news immediately. Yukos's shares lost four percent of their value.