Free Motion for TRO - District Court of Delaware - Delaware

Case 1:05-cv-00567-GMS

Document 6-2

Filed 08/04/2005

Page 1 of 11

EXHIBIT A

Case 1:05-cv-00567-GMS Filed 08/04/2005 Page 2 of 11 BBC NEWS | Business | Profile: Mikhail Khodorkovsky Document 6-2 http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1...

Profile: Mikhail Khodorkovsky
Russia's richest man, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was arrested in October 2003 when masked and armed members of the security police force FSB stormed his private jet at an airport in Siberia. The former head of oil giant Yukos has been detained ever since, awaiting conclusion of the trial on fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion charges that began in June. Mr Khodorkovsky, who has clocked up wealth estimated at more than $15bn according to Forbes magazine, made his money from the controversial post-Soviet privatisation of state assets. But before his arrest, Mr Khodorkovsky, 41, was not just rich. He was also very influential. He is - or at least was - seen as the leading oligarch in the country, operating in a society where wealth brings power. But his arrest proved that even he was not untouchable. Punishment His arrest came hot on the heels of his activities in the political arena, including the acquisition of the rights to publish the prestigious Moskovskiye Novosti newspaper, and his hiring of a leading investigative journalist highly critical of President Vladimir Putin. Mr Khodorkovsky had also extended his political involvement by giving money to nearly all political parties - including the communists. It seems his political activism attracted the Kremlin's ire, with Mr Putin apparently feeling threatened. Or at least that is what Mr Khodorkovsky's supporters claim. They insist his arrest is the Kremlin's way of punishing Mr Khodorkovsky for his political activities and for his failure to toe the Kremlin line - a claim Mr Putin has angrily rejected. Warning Mr Khodorkovsky stands trial in Moscow shoulder to shoulder with fellow Yukos shareholder and business partner Platon Lebedev who was arrested in July 2003 and accused of theft of state property during the 1994 privatisation of a fertiliser plant. At the time, that arrest was seen as a clear warning to Mr Khodorkovsky not to meddle in the upcoming elections. The tycoon has consistently said he is not tied to any particular party. "Large companies cannot finance political parties as their shareholders and employees have different political views," he said while still in charge of Yukos. However he has made no secret that he supports the liberal opposition to President Putin. "Ideologically I am close to the Union of Rightist Forces (SPS) and Yabloko, and I continue to finance these parties," he said before his arrest. Familiar pattern Mr Khodorkovsky began his career as a loyal Soviet-era Communist Party member. In 1987 - four years before the fall of the USSR - he founded what would become Menatep bank, in which he still has a large stake. It is through Menatep's stake in Yukos that he and his associates control the oil company. The Moscow native made his first millions in the early 1990s, when the bank acquired massive amounts of shares in companies that were privatised for bargain prices. Mr Khodorkovsky bought Yukos at a state auction in 1995 at the knockdown price of $350m. He is thought to control 44% of the company's shares, although Russian authorities have frozen the shares, preventing him or his associates from selling. He was one of the first Russian tycoons openly to declare his wealth. But with Yukos tottering under the threat of bankruptcy, that personal wealth could become significantly depleted. The company faces a 99bn roubles (£1.9bn; $3.4bn) tax claim relating to unpaid taxes during 2000. Yukos says it is unable to pay and may be forced into bankruptcy because a Russian court has frozen its assets.

1 of 2

7/31/2005 10:32 AM

Case 1:05-cv-00567-GMS Filed 08/04/2005 Page 3 of 11 BBC NEWS | Business | Profile: Mikhail Khodorkovsky Document 6-2 http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1...

Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/3213505.stm Published: 2004/06/16 10:54:09 GMT © BBC MMV

2 of 2

7/31/2005 10:32 AM

Case 1:05-cv-00567-GMS

Document 6-2

Filed 08/04/2005

Page 4 of 11

EXHIBIT B

Case 1:05-cv-00567-GMS WSJ.com - Rundown of the Yukos Saga

Document 6-2 Filed 08/04/2005 Page 5 of 11 http://online.wsj.com/article_print/0,,SB111755465387547157,00...

May 31, 2005 1:48 p.m. EDT

EUROPEAN BUSINESS NEWS

1 of 4

7/31/2005 10:37 AM

Case 1:05-cv-00567-GMS WSJ.com - Rundown of the Yukos Saga

Document 6-2 Filed 08/04/2005 Page 6 of 11 http://online.wsj.com/article_print/0,,SB111755465387547157,00...
DOW JONES REPRINTS
This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, use the Order Reprints tool at the bottom of any article or visit: www.djreprints.com. · See a sample reprint in PDF format. · Order a reprint of this article now .

Rundown of the Yukos Saga
May 31, 2005 1:48 p.m.

Yukos is Russia's largest oil producer, pumping 1.7 million barrels a day, or 2% of world production. Russian government bailiffs have frozen Yukos assets and bank accounts as they move to collect a $28 billion back-tax bill against the oil giant, part of a series of tax claims and court cases widely seen as Kremlin retribution for the growing clout of Yukos's former chief executive, Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Mr. Khodorkovsky was found guilty in May of charges including fraud and tax evasion after an 11-month trial. Here's a rundown of the main players in the Yukos saga:
Who's Who

FROM THE ARCHIVES
· Khodorkovsky Supporters See Guilty Verdict1 05/17/05 · Yukos Puts Putin in Quandary2 04/25/05 · Court Orders Freeze of Yukos Assets 3 04/20/05 · Yukos Braces for New Legal Battles 4 04/08/05 · Yukos Continues Legal Maneuvers in U.S.5 02/28/05 · Russian Trial Opens Messy Chapter6 06/06/04

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, former CEO of Yukos · Viktor Gerashchenko, chairman of Yukos · Russian President Vladimir Putin · Platon Lebedev, Mr. Khodorkovsky's associate, prominent Yukos shareholder · Group Menatep, holding company through which the jailed Mr. Khodorkovsky and his associates control Yukos · Anton Drel, Mr. Khodorkovsky's lawyer
·

Background

In the early 1990s, the Russian oil industry consisted of hundreds of stand-alone state-owned entities, each with a narrow area of specialization, limited geographic reach and specific economic interests. Founded in 1993, Yukos was acquired by a group led by Mr. Khodorkovsky during Russia's wave of privatizations in the 1990s.
The Verdict

A Russian court sentenced Mr. Khodorkovsky to nine years in prison in May after an 11-month trial. His lawyers said the court ignored their defense and they vowed to appeal. But they held out little hope of getting a fair hearing in Russian courts for a case that has been widely criticized as politically motivated. His lawyers have also filed suits in international courts. His co-defendant, Mr. Lebedev, was also sentenced to nine years. The court also ordered the men to pay 17.4 billion rubles ($619.6 million) in damages and penalties.

2 of 4

7/31/2005 10:37 AM

Case 1:05-cv-00567-GMS WSJ.com - Rundown of the Yukos Saga

Document 6-2 Filed 08/04/2005 Page 7 of 11 http://online.wsj.com/article_print/0,,SB111755465387547157,00...

Prosecutors plan to bring new charges of money laundering that could add 10 to 15 years to the 41-year-old Mr. Khodorkovsky's time in prison.
At Stake

Mr. Khodorkovsky is the former CEO of Yukos. The Russian billionaire was on trial for fraud and tax evasion. He had offered to give up his holdings in Yukos in order to save the company. He was arrested in 2003 along with Mr. Lebedev, another large Yukos shareholder. If Mr. Khodorkovsky gives up his Yukos stake to the state, it would mark the biggest reversal to date of Russia's 1990s privatizations and could severely undermine the country's already-fragile investment climate. In April 2004, Mr. Khodorkovsky nominated Viktor Gerashchenko, a former Russian central banker, as chairman of Yukos in an effort to jump-start settlement discussions with the government. Mr. Gerashchenko took office at the end of June, and hadn't been able to meet with senior government officials. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in July 2004 his government would do its best to prevent the bankruptcy of Yukos, which is the country's largest oil producer. However, intensifying official pressure on the company in the days that followed fueled fears the Kremlin wanted to crush the company.
Tax Debt

Russian government bailiffs froze Yukos accounts in 2004 as they moved to collect on the company's tax debt, and most remaining assets were frozen in April 2005, in a step many say seems intended to ease a government takeover of the company's remaining assets, particularly two more oil-production units and several refineries.
What's Next

It wasn't immediately clear what would become of Mr. Khodorkovsky's controlling stake in Yukos. Yukos officials said they expect the authorities to continue dismantling the company. In December 2004, state oil company OAO Rosneft took over Yukos's main oil-producing subsidiary, Yugansk, and since then Rosneft has filed a number of lawsuits claiming Yukos owes Yugansk billions of dollars, potentially making it one of Yukos's largest creditors. Yukos officials said Rosneft is likely to seek to push it into bankruptcy proceedings in Russia, where Rosneft's position as a major creditor would make it easier to win control of the assets.

3 of 4

7/31/2005 10:37 AM

Case 1:05-cv-00567-GMS WSJ.com - Rundown of the Yukos Saga

Document 6-2 Filed 08/04/2005 Page 8 of 11 http://online.wsj.com/article_print/0,,SB111755465387547157,00...

After the verdict, Yukos filed suit in Russian court to challenge the Yugansk sale. All the company's previous efforts to defend itself in Russian courts have failed, however. Source: WSJ.com research
URL for this article: http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111755465387547157,00.html Hyperlinks in this Article: (1) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111624259077434453,00.html (2) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111439061019615655,00.html (3) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111389657982910499,00.html (4) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111296749153401956,00.html (5) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110936061886064547,00.html (6) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108733323044737826,00.html

Copyright 2005 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our

Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com .

4 of 4

7/31/2005 10:37 AM

Case 1:05-cv-00567-GMS

Document 6-2

Filed 08/04/2005

Page 9 of 11

EXHIBIT C

Case 1:05-cv-00567-GMS

Document 6-2

Filed 08/04/2005

Page 10 of 11

Case 1:05-cv-00567-GMS

Document 6-2

Filed 08/04/2005

Page 11 of 11