Khodorkovsky, Lebedev still must pay $502 million in damage
As the court did not pass an acquittal verdict today, but just changed the verdict, Lebedev will not revoke this lawsuit
MOSCOW, January 23. /ITAR-TASS/. The Russian Supreme Court has mitigated the sentence to former Menatep CEO Platon Lebedev to 10 years six months and 22 days that is a term in prison that he had already served and commuted the sentence to ex-CEO of YUKOS oil company Mikhail Khodorkovsky to 10 years and seven months.
Thus, the supervisory appeal by the defendant’s lawyers was partially satisfied as well as a request from the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office.
The court verdict entered into force on Thursday and cannot be appealed. Lebedev is expected to be set free on Thursday or on January 24 as soon as the prison authorities receive the court verdict.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court refused to cancel Moscow’s Meshchansky court’s verdict to Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev to levy 17 billion rubles ($502 million) in damage from them.
“Bailiffs will continue working in enforcement proceedings (against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev — Itar-Tass),” Russia’s Federal Bailiff Service said.
Bailiffs consider consolidated enforcement proceeding that was opened against joint obligors Platon Lebedev and Mikhail Khodorkovsky on November 17, 2005. Consolidated proceedings include Moscow Meshchansky court’s rulings, under which Lebedev and Khodorkovsky must pay more than 17.3 billion rubles ($510.8 million) to the Russian state (in the YUKOS first criminal case).
According to reports in mid-2011, around 133 million rubles ($3.9 million) were levied from the defendants, including more than 132.7 million rubles transferred in the budget (the sum of damage received after the sale of land plot, vehicles, stock and etc) as well as from arrested bank accounts of the debtors.
“If everything is done quickly, Lebedev can leave the penitentiary already today,” his lawyer Vladimir Krasnov told reporters. Platon Lebedev has earlier pledged to revoke his lawsuit in the European Court of Human Rights, if the Supreme Court acquits him.
“As the court did not pass an acquittal verdict today, but just changed the verdict, Lebedev will not revoke this lawsuit,” Krasnov said.