"I believe YUKOS has enough means to pay its tax liabilities," the minister told reporters. "Let it sell its assets on the market."
Mr Kudrin assured that the government was not interested in bankrupting large companies, including YUKOS. "I do not think business and investors should fear political risks," said Mr Kudrin.
Mr Kudrin said the oil company and the Tax and Dues Ministry are negotiating back-tax payment at the moment.
Speaking at a 7th international conference, Russia After Elections: High Hopes, Mr Kudrin invited to differentiate between /tax/ optimisation complying with law and illegal optimisation schemes.
The minister believes that all tax-related disputes must be settled in court. "There must be court rulings on disputable matters," said Mr Kudrin. He added that a court ruling must be the principal and final decision on the YUKOS affair.
On April 14, 2004, the tax ministry adopted a decision to surtax YUKOS and charge 99.375 billion roubles in penalties and fines for 2002. The next day, the ministry filed a relevant complaint with a court. The complaint was honoured on May 26.
On June 17, while in Tashkent, President Vladimir Putin said the Russian government must make sure that YUKOS would not go bust.
"Debts are the matter of court jurisdiction, whereas the government must deter the company's bankruptcy while the debts are being calculated," said Mr Putin.
