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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Court orders Russia to pay $50bn to Yukos shareholders | Court orders Russia to pay $50bn to Yukos shareholders |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A court in the Hague has awarded shareholders in the defunct Russian oil company Yukos the largest compensation package to date. | A court in the Hague has awarded shareholders in the defunct Russian oil company Yukos the largest compensation package to date. |
| The Court of Arbitration said Russia should pay $50bn (£29.5bn) in damages. | |
| It said Russian officials, under President Putin, had manipulated the legal system to bankrupt Yukos, and jail its boss, Mikhail Khodorkovsky for fraud and tax evasion. | |
| Russia's Foreign Minister said Russia would most likely appeal the decision. | Russia's Foreign Minister said Russia would most likely appeal the decision. |
| Yukos was once the country's largest oil producer. | |
| 'Major step' | |
| Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: "The Russian side, those agencies which represent Russia in this process, will no doubt use all available legal possibilities to defend its position." | Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: "The Russian side, those agencies which represent Russia in this process, will no doubt use all available legal possibilities to defend its position." |
| The claim was filed by a subsidiary for the financial holding company GML, once the biggest shareholder in Yukos Oil Co. | The claim was filed by a subsidiary for the financial holding company GML, once the biggest shareholder in Yukos Oil Co. |
| GML Executive Director Tim Osborne said: "The majority shareholders of Yukos Oil were left without compensation for the loss of their investment when Russia illegally expropriated Yukos." | |
| "It is a major step forward for the majority shareholders, who have been battling for over 10 years for this decision." | "It is a major step forward for the majority shareholders, who have been battling for over 10 years for this decision." |
| 'Historic' | |
| In addition to forcing the company into bankruptcy, Russia also sold Yukos' assets to state-owned businesses for political purposes, according to the claimant's lawyer Emmanuel Gaillard. | In addition to forcing the company into bankruptcy, Russia also sold Yukos' assets to state-owned businesses for political purposes, according to the claimant's lawyer Emmanuel Gaillard. |
| Mr Gaillard said: "This is an historic award. It is now judicially established that the Russian Federation's actions were not a legitimate exercise in tax collection but, rather, were aimed at destroying Yukos and illegally expropriating its assets for the benefit of State instrumentalities Rosneft and Gazprom." | |
| Yukos was disbanded in 2007 after filing for bankruptcy in 2006. | Yukos was disbanded in 2007 after filing for bankruptcy in 2006. |
| The company was formerly controlled by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was at one point Russia's richest man. | The company was formerly controlled by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was at one point Russia's richest man. |
| Mr Khodorkovsky built Yukos into Russia's largest investor-owned oil company after the fall of the Soviet Union. | Mr Khodorkovsky built Yukos into Russia's largest investor-owned oil company after the fall of the Soviet Union. |
| He was arrested in 2003 and spent ten years in jail after being convicted of fraud and tax evasion but was pardoned last December. | |
| The state-owned Rosneft bought the bulk of Yukos assets though auctions after the company was declared bankrupt. It says all the deals were legal. | The state-owned Rosneft bought the bulk of Yukos assets though auctions after the company was declared bankrupt. It says all the deals were legal. |