In the Meschansky District Court of Moscow ended the arguments on the fraud case of Yukos leadership that lasted several days. The Website Prigovor.ru reminds its readers of what happened on April 9, 2005.
On this day, on April 9, 2005, the press was summing up some results of the ended on the eve oral arguments of the parties on the criminal case of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev, a large scale investigation of whose activities had started in 2003. Then, in summer 2003, first to Lebedev, and, a bit later, to Khodorkovsky were imputed a series of economic crimes.
(See also the article “On this day, 200 volumes of the criminal case were presented to Khodorkovsky”).
In particular, to Khodorkovsky was imputed seven Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:
- Article 159, paragraph 3 (Swindling on a large scale);
- Article 160, paragraph 1 (Misappropriation and Embezzlement);
- Article 165 (Infliction of Property Damage upon the Owner through Deception or Abuse of Confidence);
- Article 198, paragraph 2 (Evasion by a Natural Person of Paying a Tax or Fee on an Especially Large Scale);
- Article 199, paragraph 2 (Evading paying of Taxes and Fees Collectible from Organizations);
- Article 315 (Non execution of a Court’s Judgement);
- Article 327, paragraph 2 (Numerous Forgery, Manufacture, or Sale of Falsified Documents).
In the case were mentioned 11 criminal episodes – from misappropriation of 20% stock of shares of the JSC “Apatit” and machinations with monetary means gained from the sales of apatite concentrate, to criminal evasion of paying taxes of Yukos “main shareholders”.
(See also the article “On this day, the conviction against Platon Lebedev was enforced by a concentrate” and the article “Tax mechanics of Khodorkovsky as a physical person”).
Parallel to the proceedings, the Federal Tax Service asked the Court to exact from the defendants 17.8 million rubles as tax arrears, the sums which had not been paid by them as heads of legal persons. Moreover, from them as physical persons, the Tax Service demanded from Khodorkovsky and Lebedev additionally 116.9 million rubles and 15.9 million rubles correspondingly.
See also the article “On this day, Khodorkovsky’s henchmen planted $5 million before the court’s door).
PROSECUTION DEMANDED FOR THE SWINDLER-BILLIONAIRES 10 YEAR IMPRISONMENTS
During the oral arguments, the prosecutor Dmitry Shokhin asked the Court to adjudge Khodorkovsky and Lebedev guilty of all charges except the episode connected with the misappropriation of the shares of the JSC “Apatit” – its statute of limitation expired. This episode of the criminal case was a starting one. It’s after Lebedev and Khodorkovsky, by way of machination, had brought the company under their control, that the whole series of economic affairs were set in motion.
(See also the article “On this day, embezzlement of “Apatit” shares was left in the criminal case”).
The defense rather assiduously tried to exclude the misappropriation of the shares of the JSC “Apatit” from the materials of the case – with no success, the obstacles being a couple of procedural nuances. Still, in the end of the day, both the prosecution, and the defense of the defendants agreed, that the terms of limitation expired. After all, the state prosecutor made a motion to deprive the defendants of freedom for a tern of 10 years in a colony of general security regime.
“Khodorkovsky was not committing crimes not because he was not committing crimes, but because there were no such crimes at all”, rhapsodized the lawyer Genrikh Padva.
(See also the article “On this day, Yukos lawyers were dealing with a “brazen lie”).
WORD VS. DOCUMENTS
Yet, bright rhetoric and elegant creation of phrases of the defense didn’t play successfully against a huge volume of documental proofs, and that, on the whole, was enough for a guilty verdict against the wheeler-dealers of the “most transparent” oil company.
(See also the article “The first nine years. The defendants were adjudged guilty on all crimes imputed to them and the article “On this day, the verdict against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev was affirmed”).
Eventually, in May 2005, the Meschansky District Court of Moscow passed judgement on the first criminal case of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Platon Lebedev, and Andrey Kraynov, and sentenced the first two defendants to nine years in colony, and Andrey Kraynov – to 5 years of suspended sentence. In Autumn 2005 the term for Kraynov was reduced to 4.5 years of suspended sentence, and the terms for Lebedev and Khodorkovsky were reduced from 9 to 8 years of imprisonment, whereby the essence of criminal activity of the swindler-billionaires, established in court, was preserved. In March 2006, this verdict was found legal and well grounded”, notes the website Prigovor.ru.
(See also the previous article “On this day, a rookery of «Menatep» was found”. Mysteries of a former vegetable dehydration plant. The CJSC “Joy” was used as an intermediary founder of dummy entities. The website Prigovor.ru reminds its readers of what happened on April 8, 1998).
