Russian authorities todayseized shares in oil major YUKOS belonging to its arrested chiefexecutive Mr Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his allies in a dramaticescalation of an investigation into the company's affairs.
"I can confirm that a controlling stake of 61 per cent shareshas been seized, although these shares still retain voting anddividend rights," YUKOS's spokesman Mr Alexander Shadrin toldReuters.
YUKOS has been the target since early July of legal actionby the Russian justice authorities. Mr Khodorkovsky was arrested atgunpoint at the weekend and charged on seven counts of taxevasion and massive fraud.
The impounding of shares in a top private Russian companyappeared to be almost without precedent since the collapse ofthe Soviet Union in 1991.
YUKOS's stock price, which had been in retreat throughoutthe day, plunged on the news and shares in other oil companiesalso dropped sharply.
"This is a brutal violation of constitutional and legalrights as shares belong to a foreign company, which itself iscontrolled by a number of shareholders, most of whom havenothing to do with the so-called case of Khodorkovsky", saidMr Shadrin.
Mr Shadrin said prosecutors had banned any dealings in YUKOSshares belonging to a holding company called YUKOS Universal,which holds the 61 per cent controlling stake.