Police raid Yukos office as oil giant pins hopes on US court to stop sale of core asset

AFP, December, 2004

MOSCOW (AFP) — Russian police raided the office of Yukos and questioned a company executive, Interfax news agency quoted the general prosecutor's office as saying, a day after the ailing oil giant filed for voluntary bankruptcy in a US court.

The police search was carried out "as part of the criminal investigation," the spokesman for the prosecutor's office was quoted as saying.

"Right now, Anton Zakharov, head of the executive department, is being questioned," he added.

Yukos spokesman Alexander Shadrin refused to comment on the case but Interfax quoted a source close to Yukos in London as saying the raid and the questioning of the official did take place.

"We do not know in what capacity he is being questioned, for what case and for what reasons....