MOSCOW, July 24 (RIA Novosti) - The Moscow Arbitration Court upheld Tuesday a decision by the Russian Federal Tax Service to charge 3.7 billion rubles (about $145 million) in back taxes from crude producer RussNeft.

The Federal Tax Service decided January 16 to demand additional tax payments from RussNeft, one of Russia's top 10 oil and gas companies, for 2003 and the first quarter of 2004. Two weeks later, the Interior Ministry's investigative committee launched a probe into gross tax evasion by RussNeft.

At the same time, the court slightly reduced the sum of tax claims, partially satisfying RussNeft's lawsuit.

RussNeft's annual oil output stands at around 17 million metric tons (125 million bbl).