
Bank "MENATEP", Bank "MENATEP SPb" (Russian: Банк "МЕНАТЕП Санкт-Петербург" / Банк «МЕНАТЕП СПб») and "Group Menatep Limited" were
financial companies, created by Russian oligarch
Mikhail Khodorkovsky
Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky (, ; born 26 June 1963), sometimes known by his initials MBK, is an exiled Russian businessman, Russian oligarchs, oligarch, and Russian opposition, opposition activist, now residing in London. In 2003, Khodork ...
. "Group Menatep Limited", the US$29 billion
holding company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...
that had indirect
controlling interest
A controlling interest is an ownership interest in a corporation with enough voting stock shares to prevail in any stockholders' motion. A majority of voting shares (over 50%) is always a controlling interest. When a party holds less than the maj ...
in
Yukos
OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" (, ) was an oil and gas company based in Moscow, Russia. Yukos was acquired from the Russian government by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Bank Menatep during the controversial "loans for shares" auctions of ...
Oil Company, was later renamed, and now still exists as holding company GML with
Leonid Nevzlin as principal shareholder holding a stake of around 70 percent. The other four ultimate beneficial owners owning an equal stake each are
Platon Lebedev
Platon Leonidovich Lebedev (Russian: Плато́н Леони́дович Ле́бедев; born 29 November 1956) is a Russian businessman and former CEO of Group Menatep. He was convicted of tax evasion, money laundering and embezzlement by ...
,
Mikhail Brudno, and .
A 1990s scandal related to the institution has been sometimes called Kremlingate.
History
Bank "Menatep"
In 1986, the ''Center for Scientific and Technical Creativity for Youth'' - TSMNTP (Russian: Межотраслевой Центр Научно-технических программ — ЦМНТП) was created in
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
by Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Center Menatep was attached to the
Komsomol committee in Moscow's Frunzensky District. In 1987,
Leonid Nevzlin, a software engineer, met Khodorkovsky and became a deputy director at the Center.
Later on, in December 1988, Khodorkovsky established one of the first private banks in Russia, the ''Commercial Innovation Bank of Scientific-Technical Progress'', headquartered in Moscow and renamed in 1990 "MENATEPinvest".
[Khodorkovski Mikhail Borissovich](_blank)
neftegaz.ru, 07 November 2000
In May 1990, Interbank Association "MENATEP" was registered, subsequently renamed by Khodorkovsky as International Financial Association "MENATEP" (Russian: Международное финансовое объединение МЕНАТЕП / МФО МЕНАТЕП) in 1991.
[МФО МЕНАТЕП Company profile](_blank)
kommersant.ru, 02.11.2011 Alexey Golubovich joined MFO MENATEP as the principal economist in 1992. He also served as head of the investment department and the vice-president of the bank MENATEP from 1992 till 1996. In 1997 MFO Menatep became a subsidiary of Khodorkovsky's newly created, Gibraltar-registered holding company
Group Menatep Limited.
From 1989 to 1991, Leonid Nevzlin served as president of Bank Menatep (Investment Commercial Bank of Scientific and Technical progress), after which he held other high-ranking positions, including vice chairman of the board (1993–1996) and head of public relations (1994–1996). Nevzlin also worked at Group Menatep, focusing on corporate communications, government relations, and human resources. Nevzlin became in April 1996 Vice President of
Yukos
OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" (, ) was an oil and gas company based in Moscow, Russia. Yukos was acquired from the Russian government by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Bank Menatep during the controversial "loans for shares" auctions of ...
, in which Menatep had acquired a 78% share in December 1995.
From May, 1989 to 1990, Khodorkovski held the position of chairman of the board of "Commercial Innovation Bank of Scientific-Technical Progress", renamed in 1990 "MENATEPinvest".
In August, 1991, Khodorkovski also became chairman of board of directors of credit-financial enterprises association MENATEP. From 1992 to 1993, Andrei Loginov, was Deputy Head of the Board of the Commercial Innovation MENATEP (Bank of Scientific-Technical Progress). From 1991 to April 1996,
Vladislav Surkov held key managerial positions in advertisement and PR departments of Bank Menatep.
Both
Inkombank and Bank Menatap are believed to have had business relationships with
Bruce Rappaport.
In November 1994,
Konstantin Kagalovsky became deputy chairman of Bank Menatep. Kagalovsky was Russia's representative to the
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...
between 1992 and 1995. He is married to
Natasha Gurfinkel-Kagalovsky ( ''Nataliya Gurfinkel-Kagalovskaya''), a former senior vice president of the
Bank of New York (B.O.N.Y.). The Bank of New York was involved in the
tax evasion
Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to red ...
scandal with billions of dollars channeled out of Russia from 1996 to 1999. (See also:
Clearstream
Clearstream or the Clearstream Group is the central securities depository arm of the Deutsche Börse Group. It provides settlement and custody as well as other related services for securities across all asset classes. Its subsidiary in Luxembour ...
scandal) In 1999, both were accused of
money laundering
Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
, however denied any wrongdoing. Natasha Gurfinkel-Kagalovsky who headed the bank's Eastern European division, decided to resign after being suspended by the bank following the yearlong federal probe of suspicious transfers of $7.5 billion or more through a series of related accounts. However, in early 2000, she filed a suit against her former employer claiming $270 million in compensation for damage to her reputation.
In November 1995, Bank Menatep took part in a mortgage auction, which resulted in its takeover of the oil company
Yukos
OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" (, ) was an oil and gas company based in Moscow, Russia. Yukos was acquired from the Russian government by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Bank Menatep during the controversial "loans for shares" auctions of ...
.
Alexander Zurabov served as President of Bank MENATEP from 1996 until 1997 and as chairman of the board of directors from 1997 until 1999. Since 1996, Ilya Yurov has been serving as the Head of Treasury at the MENATEP Bank in Moscow. In February 1997,
Yuri Milner became deputy chairman and head of the investment division of Menatep Bank.
Following the
financial meltdown in August 1998 when Menatep defaulted on obligations and suspended operations, the bulk of operations were shifted to Bank Menatep SPb and Trust & Investment Bank. In the course of asset distribution Bank Menatep SPb grabbed the lender’s branch network and card business, while Trust & Investment Bank gained the right to deal with most of Yukos’ financial flows.
The Moscow-based Bank Menatep lost its banking license in May 1999 and was declared bankrupt in September of the same year.
Bank "Menatep SPb"
In 1995, a subsidiary in
St. Petersburg was founded by the Moscow Bank "Menatep" under the name of "Menatep St. Petersburg".
[Национальный Банк «Траст»](_blank)
banki.ru The commercial bank was registered by the
Central Bank of the Russian Federation on November 27, 1995. It had a general license of the Central Bank of Russia to conduct banking operations.
In 1997, Bank "Menatep SPb" was ranked among the 50 fastest growing banks in Russia.
In 2000, the Bank, acting as a company, was transformed into a
joint-stock company
A joint-stock company (JSC) is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareho ...
.
with YUKOS Oil Company as one of the main shareholders.
At the end of 2000, Bank "Menatep SPb" got permission to establish a subsidiary in Switzerland - "Menatep Finance SA", located in
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
, in order to get better access to the international capital market.
As of 2001, the branch network of Bank "Menatep SPb" comprised 57 branches all over Russia.
In 2001, the bank opened a branch in
Ulan Bator, capital of
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...
.
In 2002, Bank "Menatep SPb" was among the 20 largest Russian banks by all key financial indicators and the largest bank in St. Petersburg.
Vitaly Saveliev, director general of
Aeroflot
PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (, ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; , , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. Aeroflot is headquartered in the Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow, with its hub being Sheremetyevo Interna ...
since 2009, served as
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
(Председатель правления) and as first deputy chairman of the
board of directors
A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency.
The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
of Bank "Menatep SPb" from November 1995 until 2001.
Dmitri Lebedev served from 2000 until 2001 as executive officer (Заместитель председателя правления) of Bank "Menatep SPb" and from 2001 until 2003 as CEO of the bank. Since November 1998, the deputy chairman of the management board of
Gazprom
PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐsˈprom) is a Russian State-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational Energy industry, energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. The Gazprom name is a contract ...
, Pyotr Rodionov, served as chairman of the board of directors (Председатель совета) of Bank "Menatep SPb".
As of 2003, the management of Bank "Menatep SPb" consisted of the following:
*Bank's Council: Platon L. Lebedev, President of the Council. Dmitry A. Lebedev and Ilya S. Yurov, vice-presidents of the council. Igor D.Antoshin, Francois Buclez, Aleksandr E. Kabanovsky, Michael B. Kislyakov, Bruce K. Misamore, and Pyotr G. Semenenko, members of the Council.
*Executive committee of Menatep SPb: Dmitry A. Lebedev, chairman of the executive committee. Vladimir A. Vasiliev, Sergey A. Khabarov and Andrey I. Khorobrov, deputy chairmen of the executive committee. Olga V. Fomina, chief account officer. Maksim E. Frolov, branch manager. Sergey L. Arseniev, director of regional management.
As of 2003, the principal shareholders of Bank "Menatep SPb" were MFO MENATEP, YUKOS Oil, Kirov Plants, Baltika Brewery and Kontakt Manufacturing & Trading.
;From "Menatep" to "Trust"
In 2004,
OJSC Bank "MENATEP SPb" was acquired by its own management team renaming it as
National Bank "TRUST" (ОАО) (Russian: Национальный банк "ТРАСТ") later that same year. The decision to change the name of the bank was made by the general meeting of shareholders of the Bank "Menatep SPb" on October 11, 2004. Ilya Yurov, since October 2003 chairman of the board of directors, announced that the new bank planned to continue activities of
Corporate Banking service and services for private clients. Yurov served as the Head of Treasury at the MENATEP Bank in Moscow since 1996. Since October 2003, he had been the chairman of the board of directors for the TRUST Investment Bank (TIB) and National Bank TRUST (formerly TRUST National Bank).
As of April 1, 2006, Trust Bank was the No. 34 among Russia’s banks in equity (5.4 billion rubles), according to the rating compiled by
Kommersant
(, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia certified July 2013 circulation of the daily ...
Dengi (Kommersant Money). It was scored the No. 54 in net asset total (21.5 billion rubles). The holders are five individuals, with Ilya Yurov owning the biggest stake of 35.94 percent.
In November 2006, National Bank "Trust" (NB "Trust") moved from Saint Petersburg to Moscow.
Group Menatep Limited
On September 5, 1997, a company called "Flaymon Limited" was registered in
Gibraltar
Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
.
[Information about the bank]
ОБВИНИТЕЛЬНОЕ ЗАКЛЮЧЕНИЕ
khodorkovsky.ru, p.158. Document archived on May 24, 2012; web.archive.org. As of October 27, 1997 the total share capital of Flaymon Limited comprised 5 million shares, of which Mikhail Khodorkovsky held 10.5%, Leonid Nevzlin 9%, Mikhail Brudno 7.75%,
Platon Lebedev
Platon Leonidovich Lebedev (Russian: Плато́н Леони́дович Ле́бедев; born 29 November 1956) is a Russian businessman and former CEO of Group Menatep. He was convicted of tax evasion, money laundering and embezzlement by ...
7.75%, Vladimir Dubov 7.75%, and Alexey Golubovich 5%. The remaining 50% stake was held by trust management company "Palmus Foundation" in
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...
.
On December 29, 1997 «Flaymon Limited» was renamed as "Group MENATEP Limited", with a registered capital of 20 million pounds.
Valmet, a Geneva-based global trust business, founded by Christian Michel, agreed in early 1989 to advise Khodorkovsky's group of young businessmen. Valmet later held the key to the Group Menatep fortune, holding shares via nominee ownership schemes and organizing the transfer of vast sums of money via its network.
As of June 19, 2002 the total share capital of "Group MENATEP Limited" was distributed as follows:
Mikhail Khodorkovsky held 9.5%, Leonid Nevzlin 8%, Mikhail Brudno 7%, Platon Lebedev 7%, Vladimir Dubov 7%, Vasily Shakhnovsky 7%, and others 4.5%. The remaining 50% stake was held by a trust fund "Special Trust Arrangement".
[В России появились легальные миллиардеры](_blank)
kommersant.ru, 26.06.2002 The sole beneficiary of the trust fund "Special Trust Arrangement" on June 19, 2002 was Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Group MENATEP Limited was the owner of 100% shares of the company "Yukos Universal Limited", registered in the Isle of Man. The company "Yukos Universal Limited" in turn owned 100% of the shares of the company "Hulley Enterprises Limited", registered in
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
. As of April 2000, the company "Hulley Enterprises Limited" owned more than 52% of shares of JSC "NC" YUKOS.
As of June 10, 2002, Group MENATEP Limited owned 100% share capital of Yukos Universal Limited, the Isle of Man offshore vehicle which held and controlled 1,364,904,402 shares or 61.01% stake in Yukos. Yukos Universal Limited directly held 79,288,881 shares or 3.54%, while another offshore vehicle, Hulley Enterprises Ltd., a Cyprus-registered wholly owned subsidiary of Yukos Universal Ltd., held 1,285,615,521 shares or 57.47% of the aggregate number of shares of the Company.
Also, Group MENATEP Ltd. controlled Bank Menatep SPb and the Trust and Investment Bank (Доверительный и инвестиционный банк).
However, the group's 61% stake in Yukos was reduced to 44.1 percent following a share issue in 2003.
Following the arrest of Yukos' former chief executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky in October 2003, Stephen Curtis, a British lawyer, was appointed managing director of Group Menatep Ltd. in November 2003. However, just a couple of months later, Curtis died in a helicopter crash in
Bournemouth
Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...
on March 3, 2004.
On February 11, 2004, Anton Drel, the lawyer of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, announced his client was no longer a shareholder of Group Menatep and that Khodorkovsky had pulled out of the company on October 20, 2003, several days before he was arrested. At the time of his arrest, Khodorkovsky held 59.5 percent of Group Menatep equaling roughly 26 percent of Yukos, worth $7.8 billion. Shortly after Khodorkovsky's arrest, Group Menatep pulled its shareholder list off its web site and revealed that Khodorkovsky had handed over control of a special trust that owned 50 percent of Menatep. Drel however said that Khodorkovsky had relinquished all his shares in the holding.
The lawyer said that the prosecutors' step of freezing 44 percent of Yukos' shares could be unlawful as Khodorkovsky did not own any shares in Menatep any longer. Menatep owned the frozen stake via two offshore vehicles, Yukos Universal and Hulley Enterprises. Drel further added that he could not disclose the name of the new holder of the shares. Analysts said Yukos' ownership structure was getting murkier and murkier.
Following the death of Stephen Curtis in March 2004, Group MENATEP announced the appointment of three new managing directors in May 2004: Kevin Bromley, director of IFG International Limited an Isle of Man trust company; Nicholas Keeling, a Gibraltar-based solicitor representing a corporate director; and Tim Osborne, senior partner of Wiggin Osborne Fullerlove, an English law firm specialising in international tax. The three directors were supposed to jointly manage the operations of the company.
As of mid 2004, holding company Group MENATEP Limited was the 100% owner of the following subsidiary companies:
*Yukos Universal Ltd
(Yukos Universal Ltd was the majority shareholder in YUKOS Oil Company
Structure of Yukos Universal Ltd
*MENATEP Ltd
(MENATEP Ltd was a substantial stakeholder in:
**
MENATEP International Financial Alliance
**
Bank MENATEP St. Petersburg
**
TRUST Investment Bank
**
Progress Insurance Company)
*GM Investment & Co Ltd
*Pecunia Universal Ltd
*Antel Holdings Ltd
*Chemical & Mining Universal Ltd
See also:
Group MENATEP structure
As of February 9, 2005, the holding company Group MENATEP Limited was the 100% owner of YUKOS Universal Limited and Hulley Enterprises Limited which together owned 51% of YUKOS Oil Company.
On 23 May 2005, the Gibraltar-registered company Group Menatep Limited issued in London a press release announcing that former
EU Commissioner Frits Bolkestein
Frederik "Frits" Bolkestein (; 4 April 1933 – 17 February 2025) was a Dutch politician and energy executive who served as Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) from 1990 to 1998 and List of European Commissioners by nati ...
had joined the Advisory Board of Group Menatep. Before starting his political career, Bolkestein worked for
Royal Dutch Shell
Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New ...
oil company for 16 years. Fellow members of the Advisory Board were former US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury
Stuart Eizenstat, former Executive Editor of
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
Dudley Fishburn, former German Federal Minister of Economics
Otto Graf Lambsdorff and Margery Kraus, founder and CEO of
APCO Worldwide.
In March 2006, a syndicate of Western banks, led by France's
Societe Generale, filed a petition in the Moscow Arbitration Court for Yukos to be declared bankrupt. On August 1, 2006, the Moscow Arbitration Court declared Yukos oil company bankrupt after being hit with claims for $30bn in disputed taxes. Two weeks later, the Russian prosecutor general’s office said that it was pursuing a criminal investigation against four executives who managed the Yukos oil company from outside Russia before it was declared bankrupt. Among those executives was British lawyer Tim Osborne, director of the holding company GML, formerly Menatep, which owned a majority of Yukos stock.
At the time of the Yukos bankruptcy, GML controlled 51% of Yukos shares through Yukos Universal and Hulley Enterprises. Veteran Petroleum, the Yukos pension fund, and
Millhouse Capital, owned 10% and 8.8% each. Three hedge funds also held a 24% stake in Yukos.
In April 2007,
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
reported that British lawyer Tim Osborne was accused of a criminal offence by the Russian Government. Osborne was accused under articles 160 and 174 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation of
embezzlement
Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...
,
misappropriation
In law, misappropriation is the unauthorized use of another's name, likeness, identity, property, discoveries, inventions, etc. without that person's permission, resulting in harm to that person.
Another use of the word refers to intentional a ...
of assets and money laundering. At that time, Osborne was a managing director of GML (formerly Group Menatep), an investment vehicle and the biggest shareholder in Yukos. On 10 May 2007, Osborne said in written evidence submitted by GML Limited that "the
ussianaccusations limit his ability to travel and discharge his
fiduciary
A fiduciary is a person who holds a legal or ethical relationship of trust with one or more other parties (legal person or group of persons). Typically, a fiduciary prudently takes care of money or other assets for another person. One party, ...
duties to manage GML's claim under the
ECT. They further damage his personal and professional reputation and ability to carry on his legal practice." Osborne further demanded that all
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...
member states should reject Russian extradition requests and mentioned that in two rulings in
Bow Street Magistrates' Court
Bow Street Magistrates' Court (formerly Bow Street Magistrates' court (England and Wales), Police Court) and Police Station each became one of the most famous magistrates' court (England and Wales), magistrates' courts and police stations in Eng ...
on extradition requests for individuals connected to Yukos, Judge
Timothy Workman refused to allow extradition on the basis that the requests were politically motivated. The accusation against Osborne and some officers were published on the website of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office in 2007, shortly after the Yukos shareholders had filed a $103 billion suit against Russia at the
Permanent Court of Arbitration
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered at the Peace Palace, in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides administrative support in international ...
in The Hague for compensation from the Russian government for alleged expropriation of its investment. The Hague claim falls under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), an international agreement that in part regulates investments in the energy industry, which Russia signed but never ratified.
[ Khodorkovsky Partners Turn Hunters as $140 Billion Rulings Near](_blank)
Irina Reznik, Henry Meyer and Alex Sazonov, washpost.bloomberg.com, Jul 14, 2014
About 70 percent of GML was owned in 2007 by Leonid Nevzlin, who inherited Khodorkovsky’s stake in 2003, with the rest split evenly between four other Yukos partners. They are Platon Lebedev, Mikhail Brudno, Vladimir Dubov and Vasily Shakhnovsky.
In July 2014, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ordered Russia to pay about $50 billion in damage following the accusation of violating the EU Energy Charter when it redistributed the Yukos’ assets.
[ ''Court overturns Russia's $50bn Yukos shareholder payout''](_blank)
bbc.com, 20 April 2016
However, to some analysts the Hague Court's ruling appeared biased. Moscow-based political risk analyst Eric Kraus explained that Khodorkovsky was found guilty by both Russia and the
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...
.
Russia's Finance Ministry also called the ruling "politically biased." and said that it planned to appeal against the decision.
In November 2014, Russia announced that it is appealing the $50 billion Yukos verdict, on the grounds that the case did not come within the mandate of the Arbitration Court in The Hague.
In July 2016, a Hague District Court overturned the 2014 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).
In its argument, the Hague district court said Russia had never ratified the energy treaty under which the PCA had based its case.
In 2020, the Dutch appeals court in turn restored the initial award.
[ Russia Wins Latest Round of $50-Bln Yukos Case](_blank)
themoscowtimes.com, Nov. 5, 2021
However, in November 2021, the Dutch Supreme Court cancelled the $50 billion arbitration award Russia was ordered to pay Yukos shareholders, throwing the case back for appeal and likely years more litigation.
[''Dutch court scraps record $50 bln payout to Yukos shareholders''](_blank)
reuters.com, 5 November 2021[ Dutch court scraps record $50bn payout over bankrupt oil giant](_blank)
aljazeera.com, 5 Nov 2021
Clearstream Scandal
The financial condition of the Moscow-based Bank "Menatep" was seriously damaged during the
1998 financial crisis due to a requirement by the
Russian Central Bank that all commercial banks keep a proportion of their reserve requirements in Russian
treasury bills
United States Treasury securities, also called Treasuries or Treasurys, are government debt instruments issued by the United States Department of the Treasury to finance government spending as a supplement to taxation. Since 2012, the U.S. ...
known as
GKO, which subsequently collapsed, causing a default which led to the crisis and Bank Menatep's bankruptcy. The Central Bank revoked Menatep's licence in May 1999.
The bankruptcy was finalized by February 2001. In an unprecedented move, the core shareholders of the bank, the financial holding
Group Menatep of which Khodorkovsky was a principal, decided to share their own money with the 15,000 Bank Menatep small depositors whose savings had been wiped out by the collapse. A new Bank Menatep Saint Petersburg was created from a
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
division of Bank Menatep. It accumulated the assets, but not the liabilities of the original bank.
According to
Ernest Backes, former #3 of
Clearstream
Clearstream or the Clearstream Group is the central securities depository arm of the Deutsche Börse Group. It provides settlement and custody as well as other related services for securities across all asset classes. Its subsidiary in Luxembour ...
, a
clearing-house which has been qualified as a "bank of banks", Menatep maintained an unpublished secret account at Clearstream until at least 2000.
In 2001, investigative reporter
Denis Robert and ex-banker Ernest Backes, an executive at
Cedel
Clearstream Banking SA is one of two world-leading international central securities depositories, the other one being Euroclear Bank. It is a fully-owned subsidiary of the Clearstream Group, itself part of Deutsche Börse Group.
History
The C ...
(now Clearstream) until May 1983, had published a book, "Revelation$" in which Backes disclosed internal information from Cedel. After Backes had made his revelations the German foreign intelligence agency
BND became interested.
In late 2002, Ernest Backes gave the BND insight into a dossier on Yukos and the principal shareholder of the Russian company, Group Menatep, containing incriminating evidence against Khodorkovsky. The intelligence agency was thrilled. In early 2003 Backes handed over a copy of his dossier on Yukos and Menatep to the BND who finally sent it in February 2003 from Pullach to the Federal Chancellery in Berlin. Meanwhile, Putin traveled to Berlin to open the Russian Culture Days on February 9 and meet with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. On February 26, the German Chancellor went surprisingly to an "extraordinary meeting" with the Russian President in Moscow.
When asked by the German magazine
STERN
The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. O ...
in 2007, Schroeder denied having handed over the Backes dossier to Vladimir Putin during his visit to Berlin in February 2003.
[Spione am Scanner](_blank)
stern.de, 14. April 2007
The German foreign intelligence agency subsequently invited Backes and another ex-banker, Swiss citizen André Strebel to further talks. In June 2003, Backes and Strebel met with two agents from BND Department 5 ("Organized Crime - International Terrorism") in the Munich Maritim Hotel. They agreed a deal: The BND would finance the establishment of an institute. This was on condition that the BND would get access to the extensive archives, which Backes and Strebel had built up in the course of their work for various banking and clearing systems.
The BND financed the establishment of the "Institute for Economic Research Ltd." (Institut für Wirtschaftsrecherchen GmbH (IWR), located in
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...
and the ex-bankers started working on their dossier. To outsiders, the BND background was not recognizable.
On July 2, 2003, Khodorkovsky’s business associate Platon Lebedev was arrested and Mikhail Khodorkovsky himself was arrested on October 25, 2003. A month later, on November 26, 2003, Backes and his partner Strebel filed through the BND sham institute in Saarbrücken a criminal complaint with the Swiss attorney general against Khodorkovsky and his colleagues Platon Lebedev and Alexei Golubovich, accusing them of money-laundering and supporting a criminal organization. They requested an investigation and a search of records of the Swiss office of Menatep SA, Menatep Finances SA, Valmet. and of
Bank Leu in Geneva, related to claims of fraud against the Russian company
Avisma and money-laundering by Menatep in Switzerland.
Clearstream denied "the existence of parallel accounts" and of "personal accounts" (in response, Denis Robert published a list of several personal accounts on his blog). However, the company did recognize that "a banking establishment may request an unpublished account, that is, an account only known by the establishments concerned by the transaction, control authorities, and the auditors of the firm". Clearstream also indicated that it had "spent 15 million euros on various audits without finding anything," Denis Robert's accusations.
Refusal of the European Commission to open an investigation
On April 26, 2006,
20 Minutes revealed that "in May 2005, MEP
Paul Van Buitenen was shocked by
Frits Bolkestein
Frederik "Frits" Bolkestein (; 4 April 1933 – 17 February 2025) was a Dutch politician and energy executive who served as Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) from 1990 to 1998 and List of European Commissioners by nati ...
's presence on Menatep's international consultative council, a Russian banking establishment, and by his work for
Shell
Shell may refer to:
Architecture and design
* Shell (structure), a thin structure
** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses
Science Biology
* Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...
, a British-Dutch petrol company, two firms 'maintaining secret accounts in Clearstream'... Van Buitenen, also Dutch, then asked for 'clarification' to the European Commission and the opening of a parliamentary investigation. The Commission's president,
José Manuel Barroso
José Manuel Durão Barroso (; born 23 March 1956) is a Portuguese politician and law professor. He previously served from 2002 to 2004 as the List of Prime Ministers of Portugal, 114th prime minister of Portugal and from 2004–2014 as the 11 ...
, replied that these facts 'do not bring up any new question' and that it is not known 'if Menatep made contact with Bolkestein while he was in these positions'. No investigation therefore took place."
The free daily points out that "in 2001, it was
Bolkestein himself who announced the Commission's refusal to open up a parliamentary investigation on Clearstream", following
Harlem Désir
Harlem Jean-Philippe Désir (; born 25 November 1959) is a French politician who served as leader of the Socialist Party (PS) from 2012 to 2014.
First widely known as a community activist and as the first president of SOS Racisme in the 1980s, ...
's requests and accusations that Menatep had an "undeclared account" at Clearstream. Bolkestein refused to answer any questions by the newspaper.
Révélation 20 Minutes: Quand la Commission européenne refusait d'enquêter sur Clearstream
20minutes.fr, 26.04.06
See also
* Clearstream
Clearstream or the Clearstream Group is the central securities depository arm of the Deutsche Börse Group. It provides settlement and custody as well as other related services for securities across all asset classes. Its subsidiary in Luxembour ...
scandal
* Platon Lebedev
Platon Leonidovich Lebedev (Russian: Плато́н Леони́дович Ле́бедев; born 29 November 1956) is a Russian businessman and former CEO of Group Menatep. He was convicted of tax evasion, money laundering and embezzlement by ...
* YUKOS
OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" (, ) was an oil and gas company based in Moscow, Russia. Yukos was acquired from the Russian government by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Bank Menatep during the controversial "loans for shares" auctions of ...
* Apatit
* AVISMA
*
References
External links
* Website of Group MENATEP
Group MENATEP
* Website of Group MENATEP
Group MENATEP
groupmenatep.com. Website archived on Nov 20, 2002; web.archive.org.
* Organizations of St. Petersburg
МЕНАТЕП СПБ БАНК ЗАО ОФИС ПЕТРОГРАДСКИЙ - Санкт-Петербург
* Website of Bank «MENATEP SPb»
Банк «МЕНАТЕП СПб»
at menatepspb.com. Website archived on Oct 18, 2000; web.archive.org.
* Website of Bank «MENATEP SPb»
Банк «МЕНАТЕП СПб»
at menatepspb.com. Website archived on May 15, 2001; web.archive.org.
* Information about the bank
Информация о Банке
menatepspb.com. Website archived on April 24, 2001; web.archive.org.
* Information about the bank
Акционерный Коммерческий Банк "МЕНАТЕП Санкт-Петербург - О Банке
menatepspb.com. Website archived on Jan 2, 2006; web.archive.org.
''Bank Menatep SPb''
(Website archived on Jun 2, 2004; archive.org). In 2004 renamed t
Trust National Bank
at bank.trust.ru. Website archived on Jan 11, 2007, web.archive.org.
hound-dogs.com, website archived on July 9, 2007, web.archive.org. Lucy Komisar on "Revelation$" by Denis Robert and Ernest Backes, former #3 of Clearstream
Clearstream or the Clearstream Group is the central securities depository arm of the Deutsche Börse Group. It provides settlement and custody as well as other related services for securities across all asset classes. Its subsidiary in Luxembour ...
.
В России появились легальные миллиардеры
kommersant.ru, 26.06.2002
МЕНАТЕП СПб готовят к продаже иностранцам
kommersant.ru, 5.07.2002
my-trust.livejournal.com
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150518095623/http://abos.ru/?p=63973 "Менатеп" был создан на партийные деньги, а крышу ему предоставил Квантришвили], abos.ru
{{Privatization in Russia
Defunct banks of Russia, Menatep
Scandals in Russia
Yukos
Banks established in 1986
Russian companies established in 1986
Mikhail Khodorkovsky