Introduction

Further comment on the arrest of Yukos's assets by order of the Moscow Arbitration Court issued on April 15, 2004. I had been hoping to locate a copy of this Order and delayed commenting on this development. However, this Order has taken on significant importance in the overall context of the "Yukos affair" since many observers (and indeed the Russian stock market) are viewing the Order as the first salvo in an attempt by the "authorities" to force Yukos into bankruptcy and then seize its assets from its principle shareholders. Therefore it is worth providing some comment on the Order ...