http://www.kommersant.com/page.asp?id=544061 Bush to Feed YUKOS Shareholders
// At a national prayer breakfast
Business and Power
Kommersant has learned that Mikhail Brudno and Vladimir Dubov entered the United States yesterday from Israel. They are co-owners of Group MENATEP, the main shareholder of YUKOS, and are wanted both by Russian law enforcement and Interpol. Today they will take part in a breakfast with U.S. President George W. Bush. In addition, Brudno and Dubov are planning to hold a series of meetings with American congressmen and senators. It is possible that they will stay in the United States until the end of a Houston court hearing that will decide on February 16-17 whether the YUKOS bankrupt case is under the jurisdiction of the American courts.
A source close to Group MENATEP told Kommersant yesterday that Brudno and Dubov, who are wanted by Interpol, intend to visit the United States. According to the source, the shareholders plan to meet with American officials, congressmen and senators.
Yesterday morning (Washington time), Dubov and Brudno arrived in the United States. A Washington source close to YUKOS said that Brudno and Dubov got their American visas in Tel Aviv a week ago. According to that source, Russian authorities did their best to prevent the MENATEP shareholders from going to the United States. "An appeal by Russia to Interpol on Monday and the behind-the-scenes efforts of the Russian diplomats in Washington prove that Moscow tried to prevent them from coming to America."
Brudno told Kommersant that he and Dubov received American visas in Tel Aviv "about a week ago." At the same time, he said he knew "nothing about hindrances Russian diplomats put in the way of our trip to Washington." The press secretary of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Washington, Evgeny Khorishko, told Kommersant that "the Embassy did nothing to prevent Dubov and Brudno from coming to the USA. We didn't even know about their intention to come to Washington."
As a source in the Congress told Kommersant, Dubov and Brudno came to the United States on the invitation of the group of senators and congressmen, including Tom Lantos, member of the Committee on International Affairs, and his colleague Christopher Cox. The source noted that Brudno and Dubov were given guarantees that they wouldn't be arrested on arrival, in spite of the fact that there are Interpol warrants out for their arrest.
A Kommersant source of in the U.S. State Department said yesterday that "no meetings between Dubov and Brudno and representatives of the U.S. government are planned." However, the Group MENATEP shareholders are to take part in the annual the national prayer breakfast today, which is considered one of the primary political events in Washington. All the senators and congressmen, political and financial elite of United States and foreign countries are invited. Last year, 3400 people were invited from 160 countries and all the American states. President Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney will participate in the morning event at the Washington Hilton Hotel.
According to a source close to YUKOS, invitations were also sent to Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Levedev. The source also said that "it wasn't easy to agree upon the presence of Brudno and Dubov." The source didn't comment on the difficulties relating the invitation.
We don't know how long Dubov and Brudno will stay in the United States. It is possible that they will participate in a Houston court session set for February 16-17. The court is to decide if it has the right to hear the YUKOS case. YUKOS CEO Steven Theede is planning to participate in the hearing. If YUKOS manages to prove it has the right to bankruptcy under American law, it will have the right to demand compensation from the Russian government, the new owners of Yuganskneftegaz and parties that assisted in its acquisition. Kommersant will follow the development of the matter.
