Russia: Court Rules Against Tycoon
A Moscow court on Thursday ruled in favor of nationalizing a Russian billionaire’s majority stake in the oil producer Bashneft, one of the country’s largest private oil companies.
Prosecutors last month placed the billionaire, Vladimir P.Yevtushenkov, the head of AFK Sistema, which held the majority stake in Bashneft, under house arrest during an inquiry into the privatization of Bashneft from 2005 to 2009.
Mr. Yevtushenkov has maintained his innocence. The court ruled on Thursday that all transactions involving the shares since 2009 were to be reversed. Critics have claimed that the company is being seized as part of a political order to prop up production at Rosneft, the state oil giant. An aide to President Vladimir V. Putin has denied that the Kremlin is involved in the case.
Source: NYT-Russia: Court Rules Against Tycoon
