IAE MATERIAL
Mikhail Khodorkovsky — Yukos case
Former head and major shareholder of Yukos; released in December 2013 after more than ten years in detention.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky was the former head and one of the major shareholders of the Yukos oil company. The case file provided describes the criminal proceedings against company executives, tax claims, the seizure and sale of assets, the subsequent liquidation of Yukos, and international disputes brought by former shareholders.
Khodorkovsky was arrested in October 2003, convicted in the first case in 2005, and received a new sentence in the second case in 2010. He was pardoned and released on 20 December 2013. In 2013, the European Court of Human Rights considered a joint application by Khodorkovsky and Lebedev and found certain Convention violations, but did not find a violation of Article 18 in relation to the alleged political motive for the prosecution.
On 18 July 2014, an arbitral tribunal in a case brought by former Yukos shareholders found that Russia had breached its obligations under the Energy Charter Treaty, including through the indirect expropriation of the applicants’ investments. This was a finding in an investment arbitration, not a separate ruling on Khodorkovsky’s personal liability.
Photo: Mikhail Khodorkovsky, 2001. Wikimedia Commons / Khodorkovsky and Lebedev press centre (credit as stated in the client-provided case file).
Sources
- Khodorkovskiy and Lebedev v. Russia, Applications Nos. 11082/06 and 13772/05 — European Court of Human Rights (HUDOC)
- Release of Mikhail Khodorkovskiy — U.S. Department of State
- Yukos Universal Ltd. v. Russian Federation, PCA Case No. AA 227 — UNCTAD Investment Policy Hub
Key Dates
- 25 October 2003 — Arrest. Khodorkovsky was arrested in October 2003.
- 2005 — First conviction. According to the case file, Khodorkovsky and Lebedev received lengthy sentences in 2005.
- 2010 — Second conviction. According to the case file, new sentences were imposed.
- 20 December 2013 — Release. Pardoned and released after more than ten years in detention.
- 18 July 2014 — Investment arbitration award concerning former Yukos shareholders. The tribunal ruled in a dispute between former shareholders and the Russian Federation.