October 21, 2003

Russian Oil Chief Faces New Questions

Yury Biryukov, the Deputy Prosecutor General, said he intends to summon Mikhail Khodorkovsky for further questioning. The investigations, which have begun to tarnish Russia's image abroad, have been widely interpreted as politically motivated, with analysts linking them to Mr. Khodorkovsky's political ambitions or to the company's commercial rivals. The investigations come as YukosSibneft continues to explore the possibility of selling a significant stake in the company to ExxonMobil or ChevronTexaco.

(Source: The Financial Times. Similar stories appeared in The Moscow Times, WRMC, Dow Jones, Interfax, BBC and The Wall Street Journal Europe.)