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Khodorkovsky quits as YUKOS chief
Moscow, Nov 04: Detained Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky quit on Monday as head of oil giant YUKOS in the latest twist in a power struggle between business oligarchs and the Kremlin.
Moscow, Nov 04: Detained Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky quit on Monday as head of oil giant YUKOS in the latest twist in a power struggle between business oligarchs and the Kremlin.
Khodorkovsky, Russia's richest man, owns a controlling stake in YUKOS. Prosecutors froze the stake last week after he was arrested on charges of tax evasion and fraud, a move that has rattled investor confidence in President Vladimir Putin's economic reforms.
Shares in the company rose by 12.95 percent to $12.65 in dollar-based trade on the Russian trading system and by 13.39 percent to 391.20 roubles on the MICEX exchange after his announcement. But they remain about 15 percent below their level before Khodorkovsky's gunpoint arrest on October 25. Khodorkovsky controls about 26 percent of YUKOS.
"I am leaving the company," Khodorkovsky said in a statement from his Moscow cell. "As the leader of this company, I must do my utmost to lead our...team out from under the attack which has been directed against me and my partners," he said.
It was not immediately clear what difference this would make to the legal case against Khodorkovsky or whether it would stay the hand of prosecutors against the firm.
Most political commentators say Khodorkovsky has been targeted by hawks in the Kremlin for backing political opponents of Putin in December parliamentary elections.
Bureau Report
Shares in the company rose by 12.95 percent to $12.65 in dollar-based trade on the Russian trading system and by 13.39 percent to 391.20 roubles on the MICEX exchange after his announcement. But they remain about 15 percent below their level before Khodorkovsky's gunpoint arrest on October 25. Khodorkovsky controls about 26 percent of YUKOS.
"I am leaving the company," Khodorkovsky said in a statement from his Moscow cell. "As the leader of this company, I must do my utmost to lead our...team out from under the attack which has been directed against me and my partners," he said.
It was not immediately clear what difference this would make to the legal case against Khodorkovsky or whether it would stay the hand of prosecutors against the firm.
Most political commentators say Khodorkovsky has been targeted by hawks in the Kremlin for backing political opponents of Putin in December parliamentary elections.
Bureau Report