Last year, Yukos's top managers spent some time in London

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

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Last year, Yukos's top managers spent some time in London, where the oil major's office is now situated. Yesterday, it became absolutely clear that they were not intending to return to Russia. While speaking at a PACE session in Strasbourg, British MP Malcolm Bruce said that the Yukos board had applied to the British authorities for political asylum. Mr. Bruce said that Europe was ready to meet their request, Gazeta writes. The news came as a surprise to Yukos's managers that are still in Russia. The company's spokesmen maintain that the board members are not ready for exile. "I believe that Malcolm Bruce's words were wrongly interpreted: the question was of possible asylum, not a fait accompli," a source in the company said. However, it seems that the managers have simply not informed their colleagues in Russia. Alexei Makarkin, the deputy director of the Center of Political Technologies, believes that a PACE resolution gave Yukos a document indicating that there was a serious political aspect to the Yukos case. Now its managers may apply to European governments for protection from extradition. "If there is an indication of a political aspect, asylum is very probable," Mr. Makarkin points out. Some experts believe that the oil major's management will try to turn the Yukos affair into a political case to escape prosecution for economic violations, otherwise Britain will no have reason not to extradite them

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