Vladimir
Yevtushenkov (C), president of Sistema, receives a welcome plaque at
the London Stock Exchange on February 14, 2005 (AFP Photo/Odd Andersen)
The court order followed claims by prosecutors that the stake was illegally privatised, Russian agencies reported.
Sistema responded by saying in a statement that it "does not agree with the court decision and is considering filing an appeal."
Sistema has one month to appeal against the verdict.
It
warned that the court case "could have a significant negative influence
on Sistema's investment strategy, its financial state and debt
obligations, especially if today's court decision... enters force."
Yevtushenkov
is currently being held under house arrest after being dramatically
arrested last month on money laundering charges connected to the
Bashneft sale, in a move that drew comparisons with the prosecution of
former tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Russia's 15th-wealthiest man
with a fortune of $9 billion (7 billion euros) according to Forbes,
Yevtushenkov has now been reduced to wearing an electronic bracelet.
The
probe against him centres on how his holding company Sistema acquired
Bashneft and comes after speculation that Russia's biggest oil producer
Rosneft -- run by Putin's loyal lieutenant Igor Sechin -- was keen to
get its hands on the oil firm.
Sistema is a vast holding which has
major interests in the country's biggest mobile telephone company MTS
and a range of other assets.The company said Thursday that its subsidiaries "are working normally and most are profitable and do not require financing from Sistema."
Yevtushenkov
is the most high-profile business figure to fall foul of the
authorities since Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man and head of
the now-defunct Yukos oil firm, who spent a decade in jail in what his
supporters say was revenge for challenging the Kremlin.
No comments:
Post a Comment