On Tuesday, Prosecutor Dmitry Shokhin finished reading the case. At the next session, the state prosecutor will start interrogating the witnesses.
Earlier, defense lawyer Shmidt told reporters that the prosecutors had about 150 witnesses on this case.
Khodorkovsky and Lebedev are facing seven points of indictment each, pursuant to the Criminal Code, including fraud and tax evasion.
Today, the Moscow Arbitration Court refused to suspend the order for Yukos to pay back taxes.
Thereby, the court denied Yukos's repeated appeal.
Yukos lawyers asked to suspend the order until the situation with the arrest of Yukos's oil pumping subsidiaries (Yuganskneftegaz, Tomskneft, and Samaraneftegaz) is clarified.
Yukos representatives also pointed out that if bailiffs sold shares of Yukos subsidiaries, they would violate Yukos's property rights. They noted that the company had enough property of the first and second priority (money and property, which did not participate in the main production) for settling the back taxes.
The Tax Ministry opposed the appeal, pointing out that the company did not transfer the required sums either, when its subsidies were not under arrest.
The court found Yukos's arguments unconvincing. According to the judge, the suspension of the order would require the suspension of all measures it includes, and not only the arrest of the subsidiaries.
