A Russian building tycoon who once declared anyone failing to become a billionaire in Russia was a loser admitted today that his company is going bust.

A Moscow court has barred the embattled Russian oil giant Yukos from holding an emergency shareholders meeting next week.

Embattled Russian oil giant Yukos was ordered to pay over €1.1bn in fines and penalties today as part of a €3.31bn back-tax claim for 2001.

A Russian court stopped the government’s seizure of shares in a key subsidiary of a troubled oil giant today, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.

A Russian court delivered a hard blow to the Yukos oil giant today, upholding a €2.9 bn tax bill and bringing the beleaguered oil company a big step closer to insolvency.