MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Finance Ministry predicts the sale of bankrupt oil company Yukos' assets to yield some $19.5 billion to the federal budget in August-September, a senior ministry official said Friday.
"We expect to receive funds of around 500 billion rubles ($19.5 billion) in late August-September," Russian Deputy Finance Minister Tatyana Golikova said.
Earlier reports said some 450 billion rubles ($17.5 billion) could be earned from the sale of Yukos assets.
Golikova said 146 billion rubles ($5.7 billion) had already been transferred to the federal budget from the oil company's asset sales. As soon as the whole sum is consolidated, amendments will be made to the 2007 budget, the official said. There are plans to invest the funds in road construction, housing, and communal services.
The State Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, adopted a law in May on transferring revenue from the sale of Yukos assets to the federal budget for its debt repayment. The Federal Tax Service said Yukos owed over 400 billion rubles ($15.6 billion).
Yukos, once Russia's largest oil company, was declared bankrupt August 1, 2006, after three years of litigation with tax authorities over tax arrears. Its founder, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, is serving an eight-year prison sentence in Siberia for fraud and tax evasion.
