Prosecution officials Wednesday raided the headquarters of the troubled Russian oil giant Yukos, a company spokesman told AFP, with another simultaneous raid reported at the Siberian offices of its main production unit. "A dozen officials from the prosecutor general's office arrived in the afternoon for the search," which was continuing in the late afternoon, Yukos spokesman Yevgeny Fokin told AFP. "But I don't know what they are looking for," he added.
The spokesman could not confirm that another raid took place in parallel in the offices of Yuganskneftegaz, which pumps 60 percent of Yukos oil, at Nefteyugansk in western Siberia, as reported by the Interfax news agency, citing a law enforcement source.
The unnamed official said the two operations were undertaken in connection with "Yuganskneftegaz's tax debts for 2000," adding that tax authorities were preparing to file new demands for back taxes for that year.
Yugansk has already been hit with several billion dollars in tax claims for 2001 and 2002, part of a sustained campaign by tax authorities who have slapped a total bill of 18.4 billion dollars on Yukos and its subsidiaries.
Analysts say the state may sell off Yugansk, the crown jewel of Yukos.