“I don’t manage any organization, I own no shares…” Nevzlin was declared the beneficiary but it was hidden that Khodorkovsky continued to be the asset manager. The website Prigovor.ru reminds its readers of what happened on January 20, 2004.
On this day, January 20, 2004, “the main shareholders” of the most “transparent” oil company manipulated shares. The lawyer of Mikhail Khodorkovsky surprised the press by his announcement that Khodorkovsky had got rid of his oil assets as early as five days before the arrest. In the words of the lawyer, “Mikhail Khodorkovsky has not been a shareholder of the “Menatep Group” from October 20, 2003”. “I have seen the document from which it follows that he is not a shareholder. At present, these documents are in court”, assured the lawyer Anton Drel (later he turned out to be an accomplice of Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s affairs).
Everybody at once remembered what Khodorkovsky said to the court in mid-January 2004, namely “I don’t manage any organization, I do not possess shares, I have not committed any crimes”. Based on this, the court, apparently, should have come to the conclusion that it had to deal not with some wheeler-dealer or tax-evader, but a person with a crystal clear spirit, “transparent as the lenses of his glasses”. As it was mentioned, to support Khodorkovsky’s words, his lawyers presented an extract from the shareholder registry of the group “Menatep”.
However, the court, evidently, was not impressed by the pathetic speeches of Khodorkovsky. And the level of restriction, which was, actually, the essence of the raised question, remained the same – detention in custody.
However, participants of the market considered this “sensation” a formality, noting that the controlling stock was managed by the trust, the beneficiary of which before the arrest had been Khodorkovsky, and then his mates could simply judicially redraft this trust to make Nevzlin the beneficiary. The more so since the information that 50 percent of shares of the group “Menatep" changed the hands and were under the control of Nevzlin became known at the end of October 2003. It was announced by the newspaper "The Financial Times" which had found out that “the stock of shares belonging to Khodorkovsky, who is behind bars on charges of embezzlement and tax crimes, will be given to Leonid Nevzlin, who escaped to Israel”.
CIRCUS ON THE THAMES
Evidently, the fugitive criminal Leonid Nevzlin (sentenced on 01.08.2008 to life imprisonment for organizing murders) was seriously frightened by this leak. And several days later, the newspaper "The Sunday Times" interfered in this matter and reported that "the shares automatically go to the hands of Jake Rothschild with whom Khodorkovsky had concluded “a secret agreement”. Inspired newspapers gladly raised Lord Rothschild “as a flag”, like, this is the man who would cover with his chest the embrasure in the fight of Yukos against Russia. Yet, Rothschild himself, as usual, was not questioned about his participation in such struggles.
That is why, after a peremptory shout from the shores of the Thames, the financial group “Menatep” circulated a downcast press release with confessionary statements. It turned out that the rousing “messages about the possible transfer to Lord Jacob Rothschild the beneficiary rights for management of a part of “Menatep Group” stock of shares do not correspond to the reality. Jacob Rothschild is neither a shareholder, nor a beneficiary, and he doesn't take part in the management of the group", pointed out the press release. On the other hand, Nevzlin and the shares were mentioned only in a year – in January 2005.
At that time, Khodorkovsky through his lawyer made a statement about transferring the rights of 59.5% of "Menatep” shares to Leonid Nevzlin. The newspaper “Kommersant” in an easily-accessible form presented the scheme which had been realized after the auction to sell 77 percent of Yukos main asset “Yuganskneftegaz” in order to assuredly clear the tax arrears of the company.
As the newspaper find out, “until December 19 (2004), when the auction to sell 77% of shares of “Yuganskneftegaz” took place, the asset manager of the trust had been Mr. Khodorkovsky, although as early as in October 2003, after his arrest, he was replaces by Leonid Nevzlin as the beneficiary of this trust”.
More simply, the words of Khodorkovsky (the asset manager of the trust) in court in January 2004 that he possessed nothing and did not manage anything, was usual for "the main shareholders" manipulation. The same happened with the recent "victory" of Nevzlin in the European Court of Human rights. At the instigation of Nevzlin, the credulous media blared that “they “have found violations”, but they forgot to say that the main points of the complaint of the claimant Nevzlin the court found unsubstantiated and unfounded”. notes the website Prigivor.ru.
(See also the previous article “On this day, The Constitutional Court dispelled the illusion of the swindlers from Yukos”. “The Constitutional Court finds it impossible to implement the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights on the case “JSC Oil Company Yukos vs. Russia". The website Prigovor.ru reminds its readers of what happened on January 19, 2017.
