Russia Court Orders Arrest of Russian Oil Mogul Gutseriyev
Mikhail Gutseriyev said the state was trying to get him to quit oil business.
Aug 28, 2007— -- A Russian court issued a warranton Tuesday for the arrest of billionaire Mikhail Gutseriyev, whohas accused the state of using tax evasion charges to force himout of his Russneft oil business.
The warrant for Gutseriyev, who prosecutors believe isoutside Russia, could hinder a plan by Kremlin-friendly magnateOleg Deripaska to buy Gutseriyev's mid-sized Russneft oil firm,a source close to the deal told Reuters.
Gutseriyev, whose personal wealth has been estimated at $3billion, in July accused the Russian government of"unprecedented bullying" after Russneft received back taxdemands totalling $800 million.
The case has prompted some in the Russian media to makecomparisons with the case of the YUKOS oil firm, but otherobservers say these are misplaced.
Russneft is much smaller that YUKOS, whose founder MikhailKhodorkovsky is now serving a prison term and says he has beenpunished by the Kremlin for his political ambitions. There is noapparent political motivation behind Gutseriyev's prosecution.
"Investigators ... have asked Tverskoy district court todetain Gutseriyev. The court approved the request," said AnnaUsachyova, a Moscow city court spokeswoman.
"On Aug. 6, he was put on the wanted list and it was decidedthat he should be arrested," she said, giving no furtherdetails.
A prosecution source told Reuters such warrants were issuedwhen investigators had firm evidence a suspect was abroad.
DEAL
Deripaska's Basic Element has said it is seeking to acquireRussneft in a deal market sources say is worth $6 billion.Gutseriyev resigned as chairman of the Russneft board lastmonth, blaming state pressure.
He later withdrew his complaint of state pressure and issuedanother statement saying he was happy to sell to Deripaska.
The source close to the deal said on Tuesday the arrestwarrant could cause problems because Gutseriyev's presence inthe country could be needed to close the deal.
"First, I don't know whether the shares have already changedhands. If not, then the whole deal is at risk as one party can'tcontinue negotiations," said the source.
"But even if shares have already been transferred, thedevelopment still represents big risks for the deal."
The deal was already complicated because earlier this montha Moscow court ordered the seizure of Russneft's shares as partof the tax evasion case.
Industry sources say Deripaska's plan may have encounteredresistance from an interest group inside the Kremlin which wantsto use the courts to nationalise Russneft.
The industry sources said the Kremlin group's plan was thento amalgamate Russneft's assets into a state major that could bebuilt on the basis of state oil giant Rosneft, already theholder of nationalised assets of YUKOS.
Gutseriyev's 21-year-old son Chingizkhan died in a caraccident last week. He was buried in the family's native regionof North Ossetia in a Muslim ceremony and Kommersant newspaperreported Mikhail Gutseriyev attended it.