The court decision yesterday represents a major development in the Bula saga. At the recent annual general meeting angry shareholders suggested the Fraud Squad be brought in to investigate how Bula Resources lost more than £15 million in Russia.

Bula has thousands of small Irish shareholders and the share price has fallen from 2 1/2p at the beginning of the year to 1 1/2p now. The shareholders demanded to know who was responsible for a false report from the Salymskoye oilfield and how directors did not know the true ownership of a Russian partner company.

In August 1995, Bula agreed to acquire 25 per cent of Russian company Mir Space from another company, Mir Oil. Mir Space's principal asset was 50 per cent of the Salymskoye oilfield. A company called Chamonix Secretaries owned Mir Oil and Bula has said it confirmed that the ultimate owner of Mir Oil was a Mr Charles Ellis. Mr Jim Stanley, Bula's then chairman and chief executive - who resigned last April - told the company that he believed Mr Ellis was the owner.

Bula then issued shares to Mir Oil to pay for the stake in Mir Space. These shares were transferred to another company, Chamonix Nominees.

Bula was informed in February this year that Mir Oil had sold over 25 per cent of its Bula shares.

In July this year, when the new chairman, Mr Tom Fitzpatrick, attempted to make contact with Mr Ellis, he was told he was no longer the owner of Mir Oil and had not been for some time.

After further enquiries Bula could not establish who the owner is. In September, Bula applied to the High Court in Dublin for an order to restrict the shares which are still held by Chamonix, which was granted yesterday.

Mr Stanley did not attend the annual meeting in August and the directors said at the time that they had had no contact from him.