European court to hear Yukos claims
STRASBOURG, France, Jan. 31 (UPI) –
A European court has agreed to hear a lawsuit by shareholders of the Yukos oil company who are seeking billions of dollars from the Russian government.
The claim is the largest ever to come before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, the EU Observer reported. The shareholders claim the government seized the company illegally and are asking for 32.5 billion euros ($42 billion).
The company was seized by the government under former President Vladimir Putin and its former chief executive officer Mikhail Khodorkhovsky, who was convicted of fraud and sent to a Siberian prison. Khodorkhovsky had been the richest man in Russia and reportedly had political ambitions that might have made him a rival to Putin.
The company was broken up and sold at auction, with Russian state energy companies buying its most valuable assets.
Shareholders have also made a claim for arbitration at the International Court in The Hague.
The E…
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