Yukos given a month to pay tax bill

Russia expects beleaguered oil giant Yukos to pay its crushing back taxes bill within a month, a Justice Ministry official said today in an apparent indication that the company’s feared collapse is not imminent.

Yukos’ tax troubles – it owes £2bn (€3bn) for the year 2000 alone – alarmed world oil markets this week as the company warned it could be forced to halt production and exports in early August.