YUKOS’ major asset, Yuganskneftegaz, the sale of which was long disputed, is no more YUKOS’ subsidiary as yesterday it was sold by bailiffs to secure the recovery of overdue taxes

YUKOS’ major asset, Yuganskneftegaz, the sale of which was long disputed, is no more YUKOS’ subsidiary as yesterday it was sold by bailiffs to secure the recovery of overdue taxes. But after the auction the situation has not become clearer. Newly formed Gazpromneft was considered to be the favorite to win in the auction. However, it withdrew from participating in it and previously unknown Russian company Baikal Finance Group bought the subsidiary for USD9.35bn. Gazpromneft and all Russian major oil companies claim that they have nothing to do with the winner. Experts are trying to understand who is the black horse, which bought the notorious YUKOS’ assets, and what will be its next step. Russian mass media focused on the issue, too. The Kommersant daily believes that Baikal Finance Group will resale the frozen stake in Yuganskneftegaz to Gazprom using certain financial schemes. The asset may also be sold secretly. The daily provides the description of yesterday’s auction. Lawyers working for the MENATEP Group asked the Russian Federal Property Fund to authorize their presence at the proposed auction. “We want to see how the court ruling is implemented,” they stressed. But police officers detained them after the lawyers had driven to the office of the Russian Federal Property Fund. The reason was that the lawyers had no accreditation. Unprecedented security measures have been implemented during the auction. The journalists were to follow the trading using monitors in the conference hall.