The prosecution has alleged that the defendants committed crimes in the 1994 privatization of Apatit, a fertilizer production company located in the Murmansk Region, the 1995 privatization of the Samoilov Research Institute for Fertilizers, Insecticides, and Fungicides (NIUIF), and in evading the payment of taxes by Yukos oil company through subsidiary firms registered in special reduced tax havens. Furthermore, the prosecution is attempting to link the failure of the defendants to fulfill the investment plan agreed to at the time of Apatit's and NIUIF's purchase to criminal charges of illegally privatizing Apatit and NIUIF.
As of October 5, 2004, the prosecution had called more than 50 witnesses. Remarkably, only three of these witnesses have given testimony that could be construed as even somewhat supportive of the prosecution's case, while almost half have provided testimony supportive of the defence. The witnesses that have been called by the prosecution are listed below in order of their appearance before the Meshchansky Court.
Explanatory note: The company Volna, then a subsidiary of Bank MENATEP, offered the winning bid for Apatit and has been the focus of much of the prosecution's questioning efforts.
| Witness |
Title during period in question |
Testimony supportive or neutral to defence |
Testimony supportive of prosecution |
| Anatoly Pozdnyakov |
General Director, Apatit; Member of Board of Directors, Apatit |
Defendants' company Volna literally saved Apatit from collapse; Volna paid off most of Apatit's debts and improved production efficiency; while Volna did not completely fulfill all requirements of the investment plan concluded at time of purchase, Apatit continues to thrive today without any investment plan |
|
| Grigory Rzheshevsky |
Head of Regional Privatization Oversight, Russian Federal Property Fund |
Volna's privatization of Apatit was legal regardless of its failure to complete investment program; approximately 80 percent of privatizations conducted at the time followed a similar model |
|
| Evgeny Komarov |
Governor, Murmansk Region |
"Everything [in Apatit's privatization] was done legally"; privatization completed in accordance with legal standards; investors proved they were committed to save jobs and extend benefits; defendants' investment plan helped the Murmansk region avoid a "social catastrophe" |
|
| Tatiana Rashina |
First Deputy President, Murmansk Region Property Fund |
Privatization of Apatit was in full compliance with the law |
|
| Nikolai Mukhaev |
Chief legal consultant to Murmansk Region Property Fund |
|
Volna did not fulfill commitments contained in Apatit investment plan; Mukhaev prepared legal suit against Volna, which was affirmed by Moscow Arbitration Court; M-Reestr, where Volna's stock registry was held, refused to discuss legal decision with MRPF president Vagis Khakimov |
| Tamara Ageyushkina |
Personal assistant to Director, Apatit |
Signed Apatit employee pay documents as power-of-attorney for Aleksandr Gorbachev, General Director of Apatit subsidiary Apatit-Trade |
|
| Irina Tyapkova |
Employee, Varyag |
Worked for Apatit subsidiary and sales intermediary Varyag for four months in 2000; made photocopies of rail waybills |
|
| Konstantin Graudin |
Investment analyst, Bank MENATEP |
Represented interests of Malakhit in Apatit privatization tender; Bank MENATEP was behind all four companies bidding for Apatit; such practices were legal at the time; Intermediainvest won the tender, but pulled out due to risks relating to Apatit; "It is completely normal for a bank to offer representative services in a tender and act as a guarantor to companies simultaneously." |
|
| Vladimir Galitsky |
Commercial Director, Minodobreniye |
Minodobreniye purchased apatit concentrate from Apatit through intermediary companies; concentrate more expensive than if purchased directly from Apatit, but well within existing legal bounds; Apatit fulfilled government supply requirements in support of federal agricultural programs; Apatit sold apatit to Minodobreniye based on cheaper government-established quota pricing |
|
| Andrei Kalitin |
Deputy Director, Department of Material and Technical Support, Minodobreniye |
Confirmed Galitsky's testimony |
|
| Lyudmila Polyanskaya |
Director, Department of Oversight of State Assets and Financial Securities, Murmansk Region Property Fund |
Organized Apatit's privatization tender; member of commission responsible for monitoring fulfillment of investment plan; confirmed Apatit's privatization was legal; privatization would have been legal even if only one company bid |
|
| Aleksandr Lesokhin |
Director, Finance Department, Samoilov Research Institute for Minerals, Insecticides and Fungicides (NUIUF) |
|
Walton, a subsidiary company formed by Bank MENATEP, won a tender for 44 percent of NUIUF, but failed to fulfill investment plan; USD 25 million was sent to NUIUF, then returned to Walton; MENATEP acted as guarantor of the investment plan; privatization declared invalid, but Walton had already sold its ownership in NUIUF |
| Vladimir Sokolov |
President, Russian Federal Property Fund (RFPF) |
|
Confirmed Lesokhin's testimony regarding NUIUF privatization and investment plan; signed document affirming receipt of required investment not knowing it occurred only on paper; argued document only alleges money was paid, not that investment plan was fulfilled |
| Sergei Usachev |
General Director, Walton (according to documents entered as evidence |
From 1994 to 1999, worked for Group MENATEP, Bank MENATEP, Rosprom, and Yukos, but never for Walton; stated signature that appears on documents in evidence is a forgery; expert testimony issued during the case's investigation confirmed Usachev's claims |
|
| Igor Kustov |
Director, Enforcement of Tax Payment Contracts, Support Center for Entrepreneurship and Development of Competition, City of Tryokhgorny |
Confirmed receipt of Yukos securities as tax payment from the company; never had problems selling Yukos securities and never doubted legality of using securities for tax payments; revenue from sale of Yukos securities went directly to the city's budget |
|
| Sergei Ushanov |
Employee, Department of Privatization; Bank MENATEP |
Prepared and submitted to bid committee the offering documents for bid on the privatization of the Research Institute for Minerals, Insecticides and Fungicides (NUIUF) on behalf of Polinep joint stock company; also submitted bid documents on behalf of Walton |
|
| Boris Gidaspov |
First Vice President, Tekhnosila |
Retracted bid for 20-percent share of Apatit for technical reasons |
|
| Sergei Shchavelev |
Director, Delf, LLC and Biron joint stock company (both owned by Vladimir Gusinsky) |
Signed documents stating Yukos paid 2.6 billion rubles to Delf and Biron for services rendered |
|
| Vasily Krasnoperov |
Translator, Media MOST and General Director, Osmet-1 joint stock company (MOST subsidiary) |
Affirmed all transactions between Osmet-1 (Gusinsky) and Mitra (Khodorkovsky) executed within the bounds of existing law; while director of Osmet-1, tax authorities never once questioned the business activities of the company |
|
| Anna Guseva |
Chief Accountant, MOST Group and General Director, GM-2 (MOST subsidiary) |
Reviewed payment and sales contracts for compliance with financial regulations |
|
| Olga Zolotova |
General Director, MOST Group subsidiaries MOST Trade, Koller, and Pink |
Could not confirm for prosecution any connection between MOST Group subsidiaries in which she served as General Director and Media MOST |
|
| Vadim Muratov |
Founder, Intermedinvest |
Documents presented by prosecution alleging Intermedinvest's participation in Apatit's privatization illegitimate; signature on document counterfeit |
|
| Vadim Toropov |
Executive Director, Intermedinvest |
Documents presented by prosecution as Intermedinvest's bid for Apatit shares fabricated "by criminal means" |
|
| Lyubov Antipina |
Chief Accountant, Meta Media |
Media MOST exerted only partial influence over Meta Media; oral testimony contradictory to pre-trial questioning testimony; difference because forced to sign pre-trial testimony under duress; testified a second time regarding the possible theft of Apatit shares; Prosecutor General's Office violated due process protocols; Investigator Vasiliev knew full well she had testified in court at the same time he continued the investigation by questioning her |
|
| Oleg Vostrukhov |
Head, Department of Oversight, Bank MENATEP/Rosprom/Yukos |
Responsible for maintaining control over and facilitating operations of holdings owned by Bank MENATEP and its clients; served as Chairman of NIUIF; decided to transfer NIUIF's accounts to Bank MENATEP because "previously, the company's funds, which were held in a different bank, had been taken" |
|
| Tengiz Khakhva |
Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Russian Federal Property Fund (RFPF) |
Did not participate in deciding to initiate court case against Volna regarding Apatit sale; Volna paid for Apatit shares in full; neither Apatit nor RFPF issued complaints concerning the transaction; expecting Volna to return Apatit shares unrealistic because they had been sold; RFPF was not damaged in any way by Apatit's privatization |
|
| Oleg Khvostikov |
Employee, Bank MENATEP (beg. 1994); Director, Bank MENATEP subsidiaries Elbrus, Metaks, Delo, and UFK (beg. 1996) |
UFK performed secretarial and courier services; received offer from Bank MENATEP investment officers Natalia Chernyshova and Eduard Makhovikov to purchase Apatit and NIUIF shares in exchange for UFK corporate bonds; UFK sold their Apatit and NIUIF shares over time; Yukos did not participate in purchase or sale of Apatit or NIUIF shares; Business Oil and Wald Oil engaged in business activities evidenced by income and account balances |
|
| Oksana Ipatova |
Deputy Director, Federal Tax Ministry Representative Office, Chita Region and District of Buryatia |
Tax review of Investproekt in 2002-2003 revealed it was parent company of Business Oil, Mitra, Wald Oil, and Forest Oil; review concluded tax payments by aforementioned companies should be in cash, not bonds; did not believe that acting in opposition to court's decision was strange or irregular |
|
| Lyudmila Grigoreva |
Director, Federal Tax Ministry Representative Office, Chita Region and District of Buryatia |
Defence noted Investproekt had been reviewed for tax payment after its liquidation by a court; did not believe that acting in opposition to court's decision was strange or irregular |
|
| Marina Ivanova |
Specialist, Office ? 4, Inter-municipal Tax Inspection, Chita Region |
Responsible for registration of all legal entities on tax registry; Investproekt added to tax registry then removed following ruling by Chita Arbitration Court to close down company; Investproekt should have been removed from tax registry; received instructions from boss to cancel the company's liquidation in violation of court order |
|
| Larisa Vologdina |
Assistant Director, Office ? 4, Inter-municipal Tax Inspection, Chita Region |
Confirmed testimony presented by Ipatova, Grigoreva, and Ivanova |
|
| Sergei Sazonov |
Deputy Chief, Administration of the Volgograd Region; Head, Department of Finance and the Treasury, Volgograd Region |
No damage was done by MFO MENATEP or Andrei Krainov, former Head, Department of Investment Projects, to the Volgograd Region; instead of paying taxes, MENATEP asked by Ministry of Finance to build infrastructure; "[MFO MENATEP] fulfilled its commitments" |
|
| Boris Usov |
Official, Administration of the Volgograd Region |
Confirmed testimony of Sazonov |
|
| Victor Muchaev |
General Director, Phostrade |
Unaware of company's business activities; largely a figurehead position; responsible for purchasing office supplies and signing documents on occasion |
|
| Erdni Lidzhy-Goryaev |
General Director, Agrokhimtrade and Phosmarket |
Unaware of company's business activities; largely a figurehead position; both companies reviewed by tax authorities without any violations found |
|
| Tatiana Butenko |
Employee, Tax Audit and Optimization Service (SAON) |
Hand-delivered completed tax documents to directors of companies; may have had contact with some of the companies in question |
|
| Eduard Makhovikov |
Deputy Director, MFO MENATEP; Deputy Director, Investment Division, Bank MENATEP and Rosprom; Deputy Chief of Operations, Yukos and Rosprom |
Knew nothing regarding Apatit's privatization or investment plan; expressed concern at Apatit board meeting regarding the construction of a kindergarten and beer brewery; knew almost nothing regarding NIUIF |
|
| Maksim Tsarkov |
Specialist, Investment Division, Bank MENATEP |
Prepared documents that accompanied purchase bids for privatization tenders; reviewed documents issued by external sources for compliance with existing legislation and regulations established by RFPF; prepared documents in conjunction with NIUIF privatization, but cannot remember details; acted as trustee with power of attorney for work involving Walton |
|
| Irina Lebedeva |
Accountant, Department of Accounting, MFO MENATEP; Accountant, RTT |
Performed accounting work for MENATEP-controlled firms; submitted accounting documents while at RTT on behalf of clients |
|
| Arkady Zakharov |
Employee, MFO MENATEP; Head, Registration and Reporting Division, RTT; General Director, MENATEP subsidiaries |
Nominally served as director of MENATEP subsidiaries, including Mayak, Khiminvest, Fermet, and Trust; subsidiaries involved in purchase and sale of stock in companies being privatized, including NIUIF; companies were legitimate as evidenced by their having issued financial statements, recorded business activity (purchase and sale of stock), and generated income |
|
| Pyotr Solomko |
Deputy General Director, Flora |
Flora was founded expressly to participate in Apatit's privatization tender; "If Bank MENATEP had not invested the money it did, Apatit would have collapsed"; withdrew Flora's bid from Apatit's privatization because only received verbal commitment from Bank MENATEP on guaranty letter |
|
| Konstantin Suvorov |
Courier, RTT |
Largely unable to shed light on activities of the company and its ownership structure; majority of knowledge of the company and its general management obtained through mass media sources |
|
| Sergei Dobrovolsky |
Head, Shabalinsk Municipal Area Administration, Kirovsk Region (2001-present) |
Confirmed Investproekt representatives met to register the company in the Shabalinsky area; following registration of Investproekt, the company paid large amounts of money to the area budget in the form of Value Added Tax (VAT); noted tax police concluded Investproekt had a legal claim to the return of a significant portion of the VAT it paid to the budget |
|
| Sergei Varkentin |
General Director, Investproekt |
Signed official documents for Investproekt |
|
| Andrei Lipatnikov |
Co-founder, Investproekt |
Did not know the identity of other co-founders; noted Investproekt acquired assets "for a considerable sum of money"; had been questioned by an FSB investigator before the official investigation had begun; testified he knows of no connection between Investproekt and Yukos |
|
| Anatoly Koshcheev |
Head, Shabalinsk Municipal Area Administration, Kirovsk Region (1987-2001) |
Registered Investproekt in Shabalinsk "with the goal of creating jobs and increasing budget revenues" |
|
| Georgy Potapov |
Police officer |
Asked to help Investproekt in its registration process; complied with his boss' request to help |
|
| Olga Borisova |
Employee, Bank MENATEP (1994-1996); Russian Trust and Trade - RTT(1996-1998); UFK (1998-present); General Director, various subsidiary firms |
Served as General Director of multiple firms since 1996, all of which received secretarial, accounting, and tax consulting services at one time or another from RTT, UFK, and a company named Versaviya; all firms for which she was director maintained bank accounts with Bank MENATEP; encouraged to purchase NIUIF shares because they were "a solid investment opportunity"; confirmed Volna was part-owned by Joy, a firm at which she was the director |
|
| Sergei Abramov |
Outside consultant, Bank MENATEP (1993-1996); Member, Board of Directors, Apatit |
Did not receive direct orders from either of the defendants; represented Investproekt's bid for Apatit's privatization shares; withdrew bid in protest over the Russian Federal Property Fund's "imprudent conduct"; only a small portion of witness' pre-trial testimony has been represented as his full testimony in case materials, while the original audio recording is absent from the record |
|
| Tatiana Kolupaeva |
Employee, Russian Trust and Trade - RTT (1995-1996); UFK (1999-present); General Director, various subsidiary firms |
Encouraged by Bank MENATEP's Investment Division to purchase NIUIF stock |
|
| Aleksandr Zverev |
Director, Pravus (1992-1993); Head, Legal Department, Bank MENATEP (1993-1994); Executive Director, MFO MENATEP (1994-1995); Executive Director, Rosprom (1995-1997); Member, Board of Directors, Apatit |
Pravus provided legal and management consulting services to Bank MENATEP; involved with organizing Apatit's first stockholder meeting; selected to sit on Apatit's Board of Directors; suggested candidates for subsidiary companies while at MFO MENATEP; |
|
| Nina Gorgunova |
Specialist, Bank MENATEP (1992-1996); Russian Trust and Trade - RTT (1996-1998); General Director, various subsidiary firms, including Volna |
Encouraged by Bank MENATEP Investment Division to purchase stock in Apatit and NIUIF; served as General Director of Volna after Andrei Krainov left; was not concerned by the legal case the Russian Federal Property Fund filed against Volna; personally knew Volna was not guilty of any crimes; legal proceedings concluded by finding Volna not guily |
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