ID :
147170
Sun, 10/24/2010 - 05:03
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Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/147170
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Prosecutor demands 14 years in prison for Khodorkovsky, Lebedev.
MOSCOW, October 23 (Itar-Tass) -- In Moscow's Khamovnichesky court the
prosecution on Friday announced prison terms it considers fair for former
Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky and former head of the international
financial association MFO MENATEP Platon Lebedev - 14 years for each. In
its concluding remarks in the debate the state prosecution asked the court
to recognize both men guilty and sentence them to imprisonment in a medium
security jail.
Prosecutor Valery Lakhtin asked for sentencing the defendants in the
second criminal case to 13.5 years in prison, but in conjunction with the
unserved part of punishment under the first sentence (in 2005 they were
found guilty under seven articles of the Criminal Code and sentenced to
eight years in jail) he suggested sentencing them to 14 years each.
The prosecutor said the court must take into account the nature and
degree of public danger of their crimes, but did not find any aggravating
circumstances in their actions. At the same time, he pointed to some
mitigating circumstances, such as children under age both defendants have,
positive character references, as well as the fact that Lebedev suffers
from a number of chronic diseases.
Lakhtin said that the charges under article 174 of the Criminal Code
(Legalization of Proceeds Derived from Criminal Activity) should be
qualified on the basis of the 2010 version, which improves the position of
defendants, and eases punishment for these acts. He also asked the court
to relieve Khodorkovsky and Lebedev of punishment for the theft of shares
of the Eastern Oil Company (VNK) and their legalization, since the statute
of limitations had expired. Nevertheless, Lakhtin said that he considered
the defendants' guilt of this theft as proved.
In his speech, Lakhtin said that the prosecution had no prejudice
against Khodorkovsky or Lebedev, and the opinion about them was based
exclusively on the assessment of evidence. He recalled that similar crimes
in the leading countries of Europe and the United States were punishable
with more than 20 years in prison, and he called such terms "natural and
justifiable."
The prosecution urged the court to examine critically the defendants'
testimonies, who denied their guilt. At the same time, Lakhtin said that
some of the pieces of evidence produced by Khodorkovsky and Lebedev merely
confirm the prosecution's arguments, for example, the fact that
"Khodorkovsky used the money of the oil company exclusively at his own
discretion, while the opinion of others, including minority shareholders,
was of no interest to him." After analyzing witnesses' testimonies,
including those by Sberbank CEO German Gref and Minister of Trade and
Industry Viktor Khristenko, the prosecutor stated that they had only
confirmed the prosecution's charges.
Lakhtin recalled that the defendants were charged with the
embezzlement of crude oil through a significant understatement of its
purchase price. He also said that the item stolen was oil, and not
proceeds from it sale.
"It has been fully confirmed that high bonuses were paid to Yukos
managers from the legalized funds received as a result of theft," the
prosecutor said, adding that was precisely the reason why former Yukos
employees questioned in court could not give truthful testimonies.
Otherwise they would cause harm to the interests "of their former
benefactors."
The prosecution also replied to the defense's argument the first
sentence on tax evasion charges excluded the possibility of charging
Khodorkovsky and Lebedev with theft. Lakhtin said that the first sentence
pronounced by the Meshchansky Court in 2005, concerned evasion of taxes on
economic activity, while the second criminal case made it clear that that
legal activity was necessary for covering up the organized group that was
involved in embezzlement.
In turn, the defense of former Yukos CEO and former head of MFO
MENATEP assessed the prosecutors' statements "strongly and negatively".
Lebedev's lawyer Konstantin Rivkin told reporters the defendants were
innocent. Although the prosecution used the version of the article
containing mitigating presidential amendments, said the defense lawyer,
the prosecutor nevertheless demanded the maximum punishment possible.
The lawyers also negatively assessed the prosecution's decision to
drop criminal charges over the theft of VNK shares. "The statute of
limitations on these charges had expired back in 2008," said Rivkin.
"Nevertheless, we were forced to waste time on calling and questioning
witnesses."
Now the defense is to present counter-arguments to the prosecution.
The lawyers are to address the court on Wednesday, October 27.
Speaking in the debate earlier, Prosecutor Gulchekhra Ibragimova said
she regarded as proven Khodorkovsky's and Lebedev's guilt of the
legalization of 487 billion rubles and 7.5 billion dollars obtained
through theft of oil and legalized in 1998-2004. Khodorkovsky, she
claimed, took steps to conceal the crime and to lend a legal look to the
received funds through his lawyers, when he was already in detention.
The prosecution lowered the amount of oil it argues was stolen from
350 million tonnes to 218 million tonnes due to what it said was an
arithmetic error by the investigation and the lack of documentary evidence
concerning some contracts.
In May 2005, Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were found guilty and convicted
by the Meshchansky court of Moscow under seven articles of the Criminal
Code and sentenced to nine years, but in September the Moscow City Court
reduced the sentence to eight years. The duration of imprisonment is
calculated from the moment of detention, so their first terms are to
expire soon - Lebedev's in July 2011, and Khodorkovsky's - in October 2011.
In the second criminal case they were charged with gross theft of
property and abuse of office. According to investigators, the defendants,
acting in an organized group in 1998-2003, defrauded Yukos's oil producing
subsidiaries - Samaraneftegaz, Yuganskneftegaz and Tomskneft VNK - of over
892 billion rubles. They are also charged with large-scale money
laundering.
The second trial has lasted at the Khamovnichesky Court for more than
eighteen months.
-0-str
prosecution on Friday announced prison terms it considers fair for former
Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky and former head of the international
financial association MFO MENATEP Platon Lebedev - 14 years for each. In
its concluding remarks in the debate the state prosecution asked the court
to recognize both men guilty and sentence them to imprisonment in a medium
security jail.
Prosecutor Valery Lakhtin asked for sentencing the defendants in the
second criminal case to 13.5 years in prison, but in conjunction with the
unserved part of punishment under the first sentence (in 2005 they were
found guilty under seven articles of the Criminal Code and sentenced to
eight years in jail) he suggested sentencing them to 14 years each.
The prosecutor said the court must take into account the nature and
degree of public danger of their crimes, but did not find any aggravating
circumstances in their actions. At the same time, he pointed to some
mitigating circumstances, such as children under age both defendants have,
positive character references, as well as the fact that Lebedev suffers
from a number of chronic diseases.
Lakhtin said that the charges under article 174 of the Criminal Code
(Legalization of Proceeds Derived from Criminal Activity) should be
qualified on the basis of the 2010 version, which improves the position of
defendants, and eases punishment for these acts. He also asked the court
to relieve Khodorkovsky and Lebedev of punishment for the theft of shares
of the Eastern Oil Company (VNK) and their legalization, since the statute
of limitations had expired. Nevertheless, Lakhtin said that he considered
the defendants' guilt of this theft as proved.
In his speech, Lakhtin said that the prosecution had no prejudice
against Khodorkovsky or Lebedev, and the opinion about them was based
exclusively on the assessment of evidence. He recalled that similar crimes
in the leading countries of Europe and the United States were punishable
with more than 20 years in prison, and he called such terms "natural and
justifiable."
The prosecution urged the court to examine critically the defendants'
testimonies, who denied their guilt. At the same time, Lakhtin said that
some of the pieces of evidence produced by Khodorkovsky and Lebedev merely
confirm the prosecution's arguments, for example, the fact that
"Khodorkovsky used the money of the oil company exclusively at his own
discretion, while the opinion of others, including minority shareholders,
was of no interest to him." After analyzing witnesses' testimonies,
including those by Sberbank CEO German Gref and Minister of Trade and
Industry Viktor Khristenko, the prosecutor stated that they had only
confirmed the prosecution's charges.
Lakhtin recalled that the defendants were charged with the
embezzlement of crude oil through a significant understatement of its
purchase price. He also said that the item stolen was oil, and not
proceeds from it sale.
"It has been fully confirmed that high bonuses were paid to Yukos
managers from the legalized funds received as a result of theft," the
prosecutor said, adding that was precisely the reason why former Yukos
employees questioned in court could not give truthful testimonies.
Otherwise they would cause harm to the interests "of their former
benefactors."
The prosecution also replied to the defense's argument the first
sentence on tax evasion charges excluded the possibility of charging
Khodorkovsky and Lebedev with theft. Lakhtin said that the first sentence
pronounced by the Meshchansky Court in 2005, concerned evasion of taxes on
economic activity, while the second criminal case made it clear that that
legal activity was necessary for covering up the organized group that was
involved in embezzlement.
In turn, the defense of former Yukos CEO and former head of MFO
MENATEP assessed the prosecutors' statements "strongly and negatively".
Lebedev's lawyer Konstantin Rivkin told reporters the defendants were
innocent. Although the prosecution used the version of the article
containing mitigating presidential amendments, said the defense lawyer,
the prosecutor nevertheless demanded the maximum punishment possible.
The lawyers also negatively assessed the prosecution's decision to
drop criminal charges over the theft of VNK shares. "The statute of
limitations on these charges had expired back in 2008," said Rivkin.
"Nevertheless, we were forced to waste time on calling and questioning
witnesses."
Now the defense is to present counter-arguments to the prosecution.
The lawyers are to address the court on Wednesday, October 27.
Speaking in the debate earlier, Prosecutor Gulchekhra Ibragimova said
she regarded as proven Khodorkovsky's and Lebedev's guilt of the
legalization of 487 billion rubles and 7.5 billion dollars obtained
through theft of oil and legalized in 1998-2004. Khodorkovsky, she
claimed, took steps to conceal the crime and to lend a legal look to the
received funds through his lawyers, when he was already in detention.
The prosecution lowered the amount of oil it argues was stolen from
350 million tonnes to 218 million tonnes due to what it said was an
arithmetic error by the investigation and the lack of documentary evidence
concerning some contracts.
In May 2005, Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were found guilty and convicted
by the Meshchansky court of Moscow under seven articles of the Criminal
Code and sentenced to nine years, but in September the Moscow City Court
reduced the sentence to eight years. The duration of imprisonment is
calculated from the moment of detention, so their first terms are to
expire soon - Lebedev's in July 2011, and Khodorkovsky's - in October 2011.
In the second criminal case they were charged with gross theft of
property and abuse of office. According to investigators, the defendants,
acting in an organized group in 1998-2003, defrauded Yukos's oil producing
subsidiaries - Samaraneftegaz, Yuganskneftegaz and Tomskneft VNK - of over
892 billion rubles. They are also charged with large-scale money
laundering.
The second trial has lasted at the Khamovnichesky Court for more than
eighteen months.
-0-str
