DOW JONES NEWSWIRES HOUSTON -(Dow Jones)- The Russian government's unrelenting prosecution of former Yukos (YUKO.RS) owner Mikhail Khodorkovsky could come to haunt the companies that ended up with the company's assets, according to the fallen oil tycoon's lawyers.
In an open letter to shareholders of Gazprom OAO (GAZP), Rosneft NK OAO (ROSN), Eni SpA(E), and Enel SpA (ENEL), members of Khodorkovsky's defense team say that if the Russian justice system wins an ongoing criminal trial against Khodorkovsky and business associate Platon Lebedev, it could go after assets that ended up in the hands of other firms after the 2005 break-up of the Russian oil giant. Companies that bought oil from Yukos could also be impacted, the letter said.
The letter, to be published in the Financial Times on Friday, is aimed at letting the companies know that the Russian government is "setting down a path that could have ramifications for others" than Khodorkovsky and Lebedev, said Sandy Saunders, one of the members of the defense team. The letter's publication was timed to coincide with Rosneft's annual shareholders' meeting on Friday.
Khodorkovsky and Lebedev face charges of embezzling and reselling oil worth around $25 billion from Yukos, as well as stealing shares and money laundering. Both men, arrested in 2003, have already been convicted for fraud and tax evasion, and Yukos disbanded in 2005 to pay the tax charges.
The prosecutors allege that Khodorkovsky, once one of Russia's most powerful men, built the Yukos empire by embezzling oil from the company's subsidiaries, according to the letter. Therefore, the assets that formerly belonged to the company could be considered by the Russian procuracy as proceeds from criminal activity, and fair game for seizure, the letter said.
"Leave no doubt, despite lacking legitimate legal ground, if the authorities conclude it suits their political purposes or otherwise tends to legitimize the current prosecutorial farce, they will come after the property of those who did business with Yukos or acquired its assets," the letter said.
Khodorkovsky supporters say the prosecution is politically motivated and instigated by the Kremlin.
-By Angel Gonzalez, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9214; angel.gonzalez@dowjones.com.
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Publié le 19 Juin 2009 Copyright © 2009 Dowjones