Group MENATEP believes that the Russian Government's announcement that it will be auctioning Yuganskneftegas, one of Yukos's core assets, on December 19th represents an expropriation and follows absurd tax claims aimed at Yukos which now exceed the revenues of the company.

The situation is all the more calculated and self-interested as the Government has announced that the starting price in the auction is lower than the worst case valuation established by its own financial advisers.

Group MENATEP reaffirms its intention to take all legal steps available to it to prevent the unwarranted sale in any form of any of Yukos’s assets, as well as any expropriation of any part of the company.
GROUP MENATEP: An international diversified holding company and long-term Russian strategic and portfolio investor in international financial and capital markets.