Yukos shareholders score new victory over Moscow

The European Court of Human Rights on Thursday ordered Russia to pay former shareholders in defunct oil giant Yukos almost 1.9 billion euros ($2.5 billion), the largest-ever award by the court. The ruling comes just days after an international arbitration court in The Hague made a similar order for a record $50 billion (37 billion euros) in compensation over Russia's seizure of the company once owned by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky. The ECHR in Strasbourg was ruling on tax claims by Moscow that forced Yusos into bankruptcy in 2007 but Russia rejected its decision as unfair and biase. The company first appealed to the court in 2004 after facing several years of onerous tax demands and fines. In its majority ruling, the court said the ‘disproportionate character of the enforcement proceedings had significantly contributed to Yukos' liquidation’. In September 2011, the court had found that certain parts of the tax enforcement procedures against Yukos were a breach of shareholders' fundamental rights. The 1.9 billion euros will be divided between the company's 55,000 former shareholders -- if it is ever paid out, according to AFP.