Baker Botts hired to have frivolous Yukos related claims dismissed

HOUSTON, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Group Menatep is funding a new lawsuit that asserts frivolous objections to the Russian government's tax enforcement measures against Yukos. "This lawsuit is nothing more than another attempt to harass a friendly foreign sovereign for enforcing its domestic tax laws," Baker Botts lawyer Michael Goldberg said.

Earlier this year, the Texas federal courts dismissed a bankruptcy petition filed by Yukos Oil Company, Menatep's majority-controlled subsidiary, because disputes about the Russian government's enforcement actions against Russian tax evaders do not belong in the U.S. courts. Yukos' lawyer later reported admitting that the action was brought without any realistic expectation of winning.

"This time," Goldberg added, "Group Menatep apparently hopes for greater harassment value by improperly naming high Russian government officials as defendants along with the Russian government."

"We note that minority shareholders of Yukos long ago recognized the true wrongdoers, since they have been pursuing legal claims against Group Menatep and Yukos' management," Goldberg added. "We are confident that the D.C. federal court, like the Texas federal court, will promptly dispose of this latest abuse of the U.S. judicial system."

SOURCE Baker Botts

-0- 11/16/2005

/CONTACT: Michael A. Cinelli, Public Relations Specialist, of Baker Botts, +1-713-229-1764, mike.cinelli@bakerbotts.com/

/Web site: http://www.bakerbotts.com /

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16.11.2005 09:30