Yukos oil boss faces 10-years in jail

THE legal team defending Mikhail Khodorkovsky is vowing to continue the fight to clear his name despite the near-certainty the Russian tycoon will this week be sentenced to 10 years in jail for tax evasion and fraud charges.

Bob Amsterdam, the Toronto lawyer representing Khodorkovsky overseas, said the defence would continue to lobby and put 'as much pressure as possible' on the Russian government, which he accuses of bringing a morally unacceptable case against his client.

He added: 'I have no worries about the profile of this affair slipping because Russia has taken every opportunity to stub its toe internationally. It's all about the seizure of energy assets and using them as a bargaining chip with Europe.'

The judge will begin delivering the verdict on Wednesday, almost 18 months after Khodorkovsky was arrested on multiple charges dating back to the privatisation of Apatit, a fertiliser firm, in the 1990s. Even his defence team believes he will be given the stiffest sentence - 10 years.

Western observers are convinced the tycoon, who founded the Yukos oil empire now torn apart by the Kremlin, has suffered because of the threat his increasing political influence posed to President Vladimir Putin.

He funded political parties and invested millions in civil society as well as building Yukos into the country's biggest oil company. Yukos' main unit is now part of State-owned interest Rosneft.

Khodorkovsky was one of the oligarchs who picked up Russia's natural resources assets at knockdown prices under then Premier Boris Yeltsin. While conceding his client profited, Amsterdam points out that he did not break the law.

'Khodorkovsky was tax compliant for the years 1994 right up until today, when very few in Russia were,' he added. 'People have to understand this trial and the destruction of Yukos are not the legal extension of State power - this is a series of illegal acts without precedent. As Khodorkovsky himself said, why would someone who gave away $150m a year in donations compile a false document to save $1m in tax?'

Amsterdam claims the attitude of the man on the street in Moscow is changing towards Khodorkovsky and becoming more favourable. His legal team now hopes the West can bring more pressure to bear on the Kremlin.

'The West can do more. I don't see next week's verdict as the endgame,' he said.