Yukos takes Rosneft battle to high court

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) would look like a “thieves’ bazaar” if Russian oil group Rosneft is allowed to proceed with a controversial flotation tomorrow, a high court judge was told yesterday.

The claim came from lawyers representing the Yukos oil group who called on the court to grant an injunction against the LSE and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to stop formal share trading from starting.

Clare Montgomery QC said the sale of Rosneft equity would amount to money laundering under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Poca) because 70% of the company’s value came from the unlawful seizure of Yukos’s main business, Yuganskneftegaz.

She claimed Rosneft and the FSA had clashed over how much information to give in the prospectus about issues relevant to Poca, with the oil group trying to “water down” the FSA’s demands for greater disclosure.

The Guardian