Russia hit oil company Yukos with another huge tax bill yesterday, agencies reported, after the company warned it could be bankrupted by an existing $3.4 billion charge it has five days to pay.
Interfax news agency quoted a tax ministry source saying Yukos owed 98 billion roubles ($3.4 billion) in back taxes for 2001, almost identical to the bill for 2000 now in force.
The news sent sent Yukos shares plunging to close 12 per cent down on fears the company will fall into state hands, forcing its main shareholder, Mr Mikhail Khodorkovsky, to forfeit his vast fortune.
"YUKOS will be left with the following scenario: there is going to be a big asset sale, and the company will fall to pieces," said Natalia Odintsova, head of research at fund managers Prospekt.
Khordorkovsky, a backer of the political opposition who was arrested last October, stands to lose more than his fortune. He went on trial last month on $1 billion fraud and tax evasion charges and faces 10 years in jail if convicted.
The report of the new tax hit, which could not be confirmed, came hours after bailiffs visited Yukos's slick Moscow base to give the company five days to pay the back tax charge for 2000, upheld by a court earlier this week. - (Reuters)
