Swiss Court Denies Moscow Yukos Documents

Khodorkovskii is serving his sentence in Siberia (file photo) (AFP) 9 January 2006 -- The Swiss supreme court said today it has blocked the transfer of bank documents to Russia for its investigation into the Yukos oil company.

The Swiss Federal Tribunal said that Moscow has provided insufficient evidence of wrongdoing. The court also refused to hand over information on companies and banks connected to Yukos assets.

Some $125 million in company assets remain frozen in Switzerland.

Yukos, which was once Russia's largest oil producer, is now fighting for life while its assets remain blocked amid ongoing efforts by Russian tax authorities to claim billions of dollars in back taxes.

The former head of the company, Mikhail Khodorkovskii, is serving an eight-year jail sentence on fraud and embezzlement charges that he says are fabricated.

(AP)