Russia may compromise over Yukos tax debt

In the first sign that the government might compromise to save the Yukos oil company from bankruptcy over back taxes, Russian news agencies reported today that the Cabinet was considering a Yukos proposal to pay £5bn (€7.5bn) over a three-year period.

In the first sign that the government might compromise to save the Yukos oil company from bankruptcy over back taxes, Russian news agencies reported today that the Cabinet was considering a Yukos proposal to pay €7.5bn over a three-year period.

The report came on the same day that a glum-looking Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former head of Yukos, returned to court to face his own charges of tax evasion and fraud which could land him a 10-year prison term if convicted.