MOSCOW, November 20 (RIA Novosti) - The Moscow Arbitration Court has upheld a 15.8 billion ruble ($600 million) debt claim against bankrupt Russian oil company Yukos [RTS:YUKO] filed by the Federal Bailiffs Service, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported from the courtroom.
Yukos's debt to the Federal Tax Service has now risen to 369.6 billion rubles ($13.7 billion).
Yukos, whose founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky is serving an eight-year prison term in Siberia after being convicted of fraud in May 2005, was declared bankrupt by the court on August 1, upholding a July 25 vote by the company's creditors.
The company's debt stood at 586.6 billion rubles ($22 billion) as of November 2. The list of creditors, which originally numbered around 50, has now expanded to more than 60.
Yukos faces another 42.8 million rubles ($1.6 billion) in debt claims, including 38 billion rubles ($1.43 billion) from the tax service. Court hearings on the claims have been postponed until December 25.
