Russia’s largest oil producer, battered by a gigantic overdue back taxes bill, says it may have to halt its main production units within a few days because of a bailiffs’ order, the Interfax news agency reported in Moscow.

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.

Russian tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, arrested on charges of fraud and tax evasion, has announced his resignation from Yukos, saying the move is a bid to save the oil giant from an escalating criminal probe that has seen top shareholders imprisoned and a large chunk of its stock frozen.