Yukos to drop US bankruptcy appeal

OAO Yukos said it will drop the appeal of its bankruptcy case through the US courts and focus on other survival efforts.

March 23, 2005

2 min read

By OGJ editors

HOUSTON, Mar. 23 -- OAO Yukos said it will drop the appeal of its bankruptcy case through the US courts and focus on other survival efforts.

In Russia, Yukos is contesting the government's claim that the company owes $27.5 billion in delinquent taxes. Yukos also has filed complaints against the Russian government at the European Court of Human Rights.

Last week, US District Judge Nancy Atlas of Houston denied a request from Yukos seeking US court protection of the company's remaining assets pending appeal of its bankruptcy case dismissal by US Bankruptcy Judge Letitia Clark (OGJ Online, Feb. 25, 2005).

Yukos filed for bankruptcy protection in Houston federal court during December in a failed attempt to prevent the auction of its key subsidiary, Yuganskneftegas (OGJ Online, Dec. 15, 2004).

Baikal Finance Group bought Yuganskneftegas at a Dec. 19 government auction in Moscow and sold it to OAO Rosneft, which is merging with OAO Gazprom (OGJ Online, Mar. 15, 2005).

In a Mar. 22 news release, Yukos CEO Steven Theede said he "continues to believe strongly in the merits of our legal case, and we have no choice but to aggressively pursue all the legal options available to us to right the wrongs that have been done."

Theede said the company will continues its legal efforts "to survive as a going concern and obtain compensation for assets that have been improperly expropriated from us."