Confusion surrounds latest YUKOS onslaught
Òåêñò: Yelena Niglinina, Yuri Krasnoglyadov Èëëþñòðàöèÿ - «Ãàçåòà.Ru»
Russia saw the escalation of the attack on YUKOS Thursday as a report leaked to the press claimed that arrest warrants had been issued for Leonid Nevzlin and Vladimir Dubov, two major shareholders in the embattled oil group. Nevzlin, who only a day earlier voiced his support for the presidential candidate Irina Khakamada, denounced the charges as politically motivated.
The charges brought against both men are similar to those the YUKOS shareholders Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Platon Lebedev and Vasily Shakhnovsky are facing. Leonid Nevzlin and Vladimir Dubov, the only two major shareholders in YUKOS who had not been targeted since the beginning of the attack on YUKOS, apparently now face criminal charges. This was communicated to the press by a source in the Interior Ministry who had received the case-files of Nevzlin and Dubov shortly after the New Year holidays.
The source did not elaborate, saying only that Nevzlin faces accusations of evading 26.7 million roubles in taxes, while Dubov is charged with large-scale fraud, and adding that as of early January both have been put on the federal wanted list. However, neither the Interior Ministry nor the Prosecutor General’s Office confirmed that report. On Friday morning the authorities denied any charges were brought against Nevzlin or Dubov.
YUKOS’ press-service refused to comment on the report. ''I have no right to comment on the affairs of our shareholders. Excuse me, but such information is confidential information,'' YUKOS spokesman Alexander Shadrin told Gazeta.Ru on Thursday evening.
Leonid Nevzlin in a phone interview with Gazeta.Ru said he is currently in Israel, and denounced the charges reportedly brought against him as politically motivated. Nevzlin suggested the case was brought against him after he publicly voiced his support for Irina Khakamada, the co-leader of the Union of Rightist Forces who is running for president.
Gazeta.Ru: Do you know that you and Vladimir Dubov have been placed on the wanted list?
Nevzlin: Yes, I learnt about that at dinner.
Where are you now?
Is that a secret? Everyone knows I live in Israel.
You are charged with not paying 26 million roubles in taxes. What episode in your activities does that charge concern?
It is not connected with any episode: I have been paying taxes in full all my life. I was one of the first who started paying taxes in Russia… I think this happened after I openly backed Irina Khakamada, a liberal candidate from the right-wing opposition, in the presidential election and I will continue supporting her now even more so and as actively as I can. The Prosecutor General’s Office, as always, has made a gaffe. I have been checked and re-checked plenty of times. Unlike ordinary taxpayers I have also undergone checks as a member of the Federation Council, and no violations have been revealed. There are papers proving that. That is why the prosecutors have again got into a mess they themselves have started.
Do you think there will be more repressions against some of YUKOS’ executives and shareholders?
Indeed. A political decision on the Khodorkovsky group has been made, and the company executives are open to attack, especially those who are politically active. I realized what I was risking, though maybe to some extent I have exposed Vladimir Dubov to the blow.
And do you know where Dubov is now?
He is not far from me; I could reach him with my hand. Generally speaking, his situation is the same. He has been checked and re-checked plenty of times, because he ran for a deputy’s seat [in the State Duma].
What implications might the latest developments have for Irina Khakamada’s campaign?
I will continue supporting Irina Khakamada and will invite new people and those who have already suffered from the regime and who live abroad to take part in this work. I do not mean Berezovsky, but those who have already left the country fleeing the arbitrariness of the law enforcement system.
Are you planning to seek asylum?
I am a citizen of Israel, too, and they will never make me give up my Russian citizenship.
In comments for Gazeta.Ru Irina Khakamada also said the charges against Nevzlin were politically motivated. ''I am not surprised that no sooner had Leonid Nevzlin publicly pledged his support for me as a presidential candidate, than the repression machine against him was put in motion. I believe that in doing so the authorities again are sending a clear signal to everyone that supporting liberal values in Russia is a risky and dangerous affair.'' 16 ßÍÂÀÐß 14:52
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