Yukos founder convicted

[Robbien]

MOSCOW -- A Moscow court Friday convicted the head of the once-mighty Yukos energy group on numerous tax evasion and fraud charges and his lawyers vowed an appeal.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who has been behind bars since 2003, and associate Platon Lebedev were found guilty on all but one of the charges against them, RIA Novosti reported.

Their lawyers said they would appeal the ruling without hearing the end of verdict, citing "considerable violations."

"There are many violations and factors in this verdict that do not correspond to reality. It's absurd," one defense attorney said. "We'll certainly lodge an appeal. Clearly, our clients will be found guilty."

http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20050527-110238-4391r

[MisterP]

1. warm up the NED, we have another oillionaire to set up in a coup!

[libertypirate]

2. What is really ironic about all this...

Is that after 8.8bn dollars had gone missing the company that this guy built was bought for 8.8bn dollars; and no one know where the money came from and who.

[AlCzervik]

3. Putin is wiping out the oil oligarchy, Russia isn't big enough for all of

them.

[elemnopee]

4. WTF

"We'll certainly lodge an appeal. Clearly, our clients will be found guilty."


This must be a typo

[Robbien]

5. No, not a typo. The attorney is saying that the trial was such a joke

that there was no way his client could be found anything but guilty given all the dirty tricks pulled on him in court.

[makhno]

6. Reminds me of this line in Reservoir Dogs

:nopity:

"Do you know what this is? It's the world's smallest violin playing just for the oligarchs."