Shuvalov: Yukos Case Not the Last, THE MOSCOW TIMES.

Publication: Finance Wire

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Original Source: Emerging Markets Datafile

URL: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/

The unrelenting legal assault on Yukos is no exception, and other oil majors should expect tax probes, too, a top aide to President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.

"We must probe everyone, everyone. And if I was responsible for tax discipline -- against the background of Yukos -- I would probe all the other oil companies, too," the head of the presidential Expert Department, Igor Shuvalov, said on the sidelines of an investors' conference.

"This is only the start of the road in relation to other taxpayers. Many oil companies used schemes that they call 'tax optimization.' Where it was illegal they will have to pay in full," he told investors.

The onslaught against Yukos has tarnished Russia's investment image, helped send oil prices soaring and shaken confidence, as officials put out chaotic signals about the future of the country's biggest oil exporter.

Shuvalov said...

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