MOSCOW, March 25 (RAPSI) – The official representative of Russia’s Investigative Committee, Vladimir Markin, said on Friday that privatization of a prominent Yukos oil company in 1995 was conducted with numerous violations of competition and anti-monopoly legislation, RIA Novosti reported.

According to investigators, in 1995 Mikhail Khodorkovsky used firms, de-facto belonging to him, “Laguna” and “Reagent” companies, to participate in the investment tender and auction over Yukos assets, presenting those firms as independent players. “Laguna” won the tender and auction, but payment for the shares was conducted on the funds of MENATEP bank. Funds were not returned to the bank and it was bankrupted several years later.

“Therefore shares have been obtained by Khodorkovsky free of charge, on other people's money, stolen, in fact,” Markin said.

The Investigative Committee announced at the end of last year that it started to examine the legality of YUKOS share acquisition by foreign companies, which are listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Russia.

A tribunal for the Hague Permanent Court of Arbitration announced in July 2014 that it had issued awards in three cases filed against Russia. The tribunal ordered that Russia pay Yukos Universal Limited (Isle of Man) over $1.8 billion in damages. Hulley Enterprises Limited (Cyprus) was awarded about $40 billion, and Veteran Petroleum Limited (Cyprus) got over $8 billion. Russian authorities moved to set aside the ruling and turned to the District Court of the Hague.