According to the Interfax news agency, Group Menatep Limited are prepared to offer Yukos shares uncer their control to the Russian Govt in exchange for the freedom of former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who is under arrest in Russia. The statement was issued by Leonid Nevzlin from Israel.
Khodorkovsky faces charges of massive fraud, corruption and tax evasion.
His colleague, Leonid Nevzlin a major shareholder in the former state owned oil company, Yukos, fled to Israel in November 2003 and was granted immediate citizenship even though Nevzlin does not meet Israel's usual citizenship requirements.
Upon Khodorkovsky arrest last year, his shares were automatically transfered to Group Menatep, a banking group with offices in the Isle of Man (UK offshore tax haven).
British press and media reported at the time that this placed the shares in the control of Lord Jacob Rothschild, now an Israeli citizen.
Menatep, however, denied that Rothschild had any power within the group. Their statement declared that Rothschild has close links with Menatep through the Open Russia Foundation, whose trustee membership list includes Henry Kissinger. Menatep failed to mention that the Open Russia Foundation was founded by Yukos.
British financial papers insisted that it was Rothschild who had worked out the automatic transfer of shares mechanism for certain Yukos shareholders.
Messages, such as "we will do anything to get our people back" from the Menatep group appeared today on British teletext services, suggesting a desperation to get Khodorkovsky out of Russian hands.
Many Russian state owned companies were auctioned off into private hands at rock bottom prices. There have been growing suspicions in Russia that these auctions were "rigged" during the post 1991 "revolution" Boris Yeltsin period.
Putin has been accused by certain media sources of returning Russia to the "KGB". Other commentators suggest he is out to uncover a web of deceit and corruption that led to a giveaway of Russian assets and mineral resources under Yeltsin's presidency.
Yukos may well be the tip of the iceberg and information from Khodorkovsky could lead investigators to other money trails and a major return of illegally acquired assets to Russian ownership.
As Presidents Putin and George W Bush are reported to be good friends, it will be interesting to see how this drama plays out, as well as how many more "Russian" oligarchs flee to immediate citizenship in Israel in order to become immune from international arrest warrants issued through Interpol.
M-Theory
select bibliography:
http://www.openrussiafoundation.com/Board_of_Trustees.asp
http://www.groupmenatep.com/company_news/advisory_board.cfm
http://www.forbes.com/newswire/2003/11/05/rtr1135797.html
http://www.future-of-russia.org/issues/gusinsky.html
http://www.rosbaltnews.com/2003/11/04/64608.html
http://www.washingtondispatch.com/article_7287.shtml
(the New Bourbons)
