GML beneficiary Leonid Nevzlin said that the Investigative Committee is “fabricating” cases of illegal privatization of YUKOS in order not to pay for what was “stolen” - $50 billion in compensation awarded by the Hague Arbitration to YUKOS shareholders

Beneficiary GML Leonid Nevzlin (Photo: Bloomberg)

On Friday, official representative of the Investigative Committee of Russia Vladimir Markin said that Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his partners illegally bought Yukos shares at a loans-for-shares auction in 1995, and presented the investigation’s arguments. “Khodorkovsky, having received shares from the state practically for nothing, and in fact having stolen them, today, now with the help of international courts, is trying to pull off his next scam in the hope of receiving from the state - from you and me - another $50 billion (compensation, which in July 2014 the international arbitration in The Hague awarded to the GML group, which owned more than 70% of YUKOS. - RBC ),” Markin noted.

Leonid Nevzlin, to whom Khodorkovsky transferred the rights of the main beneficiary of GML after his arrest in 2005, commented on these accusations to RBC. “At first they fabricated cases [of tax evasion] in order to steal the company from shareholders and give it away [...] (during the bankruptcy of YUKOS, Rosneft received most of its assets. - RBC ). You were caught stealing, and you have to pay [according to the decision of the Hague Arbitration]. Now they are fabricating cases so as not to pay for what was stolen,” Nevzlin said through his representative.

“As in the previous case with taxes, selective “justice” is now being used with privatization,” Nevzlin asserts. “Sibneft, TNK and other companies can be accused of the same contrived tax violations and the same contrived illegal privatization.”

on his Facebook page On Saturday, Khodorkovsky also indicated that, like “all other” participants in the loans-for-shares auctions, he bought YUKOS “according to the laws of that time.” At the same time, he admitted that the privatization of Yukos, as well as its subsequent expropriation, was “unfair.” Other participants have previously spoken about the injustice of loans-for-shares auctions. For example, during a trial in London in 2011, Roman Abramovich admitted that the auction for Sibneft was fictitious and it was initially decided that the structure controlled by him and Boris Berezovsky should win it.

According to Nezvlin, the latest cases of the Investigative Committee are being initiated on the advice of the American law firm White&Case, which Russia hired to protect its interests in the $50 billion case. The businessman believes that this law firm may have a conflict of interest: “It’s funny that they represented Yukos for several years in the late 1990s - early 2000s. Before this, they carefully checked YUKOS and came to the conclusion that everything was absolutely legal.” “Apparently, Russia offered so much money that I had to change my mind and turn a blind eye to professional ethics,” Nevzlin concluded. White&Case partner David Goldberg, leading the case in the interests of Russia in London, promised to respond to Nevzlin’s claims later. The press service of the Investigative Committee was unable to promptly respond to RBC’s request for comment.

Old acquaintances

In July 2015, Russia involved White & Case in the process of challenging the decision of the Hague Arbitration Tribunal in the USA, and in the fall it became known that White & Case was also involved in similar cases in Germany and the UK (the coordinator of all legal actions to protect Russian state assets from the claims of former shareholders YUKOS is an autonomous non-profit organization "International Legal Defense Center").

In November 2015, Shearman & Sterling, representing former Yukos shareholders, stated in the District of Columbia (USA) court, where GML is seeking recognition of the Hague Arbitration, that it was examining its rivals in the lawsuit, White & Case, for potential conflicts of interest. White & Case worked for Yukos in the late 1990s and, according to lawyers hired by GML, may have information that could be used in the current trial in violation of professional ethics. “Due to the length of time that has elapsed and most of the relevant documents being confiscated by agents of the Russian Federation, plaintiffs may be several weeks away from making a final decision on whether they will seek disqualification from White & Case,” the filing said. court dated November 19. It is not yet known what decision the former YUKOS shareholders made.

At a loans-for-shares auction in December 1995, 45% of YUKOS shares were sold. AOZT "Laguna" was recognized as the winner, the guarantors of which were Menatep Bank, Tokobank and the Capital Savings Bank. These same three banks were also the guarantors of Laguna’s only rival, JSC Reagent. With a starting price of $150 million, Reagent offered $150.1 million, and Laguna - $159 million. A year after the state was unable to repay the loan, Laguna sold its stake in Yukos to Mont Blanc, which was also affiliated with Menatep.

A consortium of Alfa Bank, Rossiysky Credit Bank and Inkombank tried to compete with the winner of the auction, but they were not allowed to participate in the auction for formal reasons - they contributed part of the necessary collateral for the auction in the form of state bonds, which did not suit the organizers. The consortium members held a press conference on the eve of the auction, at which they stated that they were against the “unequal conditions created for the participants.” In particular, they pointed out that Menatep not only actually intended to take part in the auction, but was also one of its organizers, and also intended to use funds from the Ministry of Finance (the government placed $120 million on deposit with this bank). However, their attempts to challenge the auction results in court were unsuccessful.

Nevzlin responded to statements from the Investigative Committee about the illegal privatization of Yukos