MOSCOW, May 17 - RAPSI. The Eleventh Commercial Court of Appeals will hear on July 5 the hearing of an appeal against the court judgment invalidating loan contracts worth over $96.8 million between Luxemburg-based Yukos Capital S.a.r.l. and Samaraneftegaz.

Samaraneftegaz is a part of Russian oil giant Rosneft.

Yukos Capital S.a.r.l. is seeking to appeal the Samara Regional Commercial Court’s adverse judgment. On February 8 the court held for Neft-Activ’s motion to invalidate the loan contracts.

Neft-Activ, a subsidiary of Rosneft, sought to invalidate the loan contracts signed on July 20 and July 27, 2004. The company maintained that the "contracts are bogus deals aimed to conceal the true agreement, which is the illegal transfer of funds from Samaraneftegaz to Yukos Capital S.a.r.l. and the subsequent return of these funds to Samaraneftegaz as a loan."

The loans issued to Samaraneftegaz amounted to 2.415 billion rubles ($82.5 million). The company was also charged 664.8 million rubles ($22.7 million) in interest.

On July 28, 2009 the Samara Regional Commercial Court suspended proceedings in the case until the judicial act in the criminal case tried by the Moscow Khamovnichesky District Court came into force. The commercial court in Samara then resumed proceedings in July 2011.