SAMARA (Central Russia), April 14 (RIA Novosti) - A court in Central Russia Friday opened hearings on charges of tax evasion against executives of Samaraneftegaz, a subsidiary of embattled oil company Yukos.
Prosecutors accused Samaraneftegaz chief accountant, Yelena Marochkina, of underpaying 3.5 billion rubles to the federal budget in 2000.
The court in the Volga River city of Samara closed a criminal case against Marochkina in 2005, after Samaraneftegaz, one of Yukos' two major remaining production units, had paid the back taxes. But prosecutors appealed the ruling in the Supreme Court, which sent the case back to Samara for re-examination.
Similar charges were brought against Pavel Anisimov, a Samaraneftegaz manager, in February 2006. The two cases were combined into one.
The hearings are taking place behind closed doors. The next session has been slated for April 17.
