MOSCOW, June 28 - RAPSI. The Moscow Commercial Court satisfied on Thursday the Vesta investment companys lawsuit to invalidate four loans totaling $342 million issued by the Luxemburg-based Yukos Capital S.a.r.l. to Yuganskneftegaz in 2004, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency.

Vesta held that the loans were issued in breach of law. The agreements were signed in July-August 2004 and were set to mature in 2007.
The complaint was filed against Yukos Capital S.a.r.l. and Rosneft, which later took over the former YUKOS subsidiary Yuganskneftegaz. Vesta believes the transactions were bogus and aimed at covering up the transfer of funds subject to confiscation from Yuganskneftegaz to Yukos Capital S.a.r.l in the form of a loan.

On Thursday, Vesta provided evidence that it has been a Rosneft shareholder since June 2007. In the plaintiffs view, the disputable loans infringe upon its right to receive the expected dividends.

After the hearing, Yukos Capital S.a.r.l. representative Alexander Morozov told RAPSI that the company will challenge the judgment.
The lawsuit was submitted in 2007. Its consideration was later suspended until the criminal case against former YUKOS head Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev reached an end.

A Moscow district court sentenced both men to 14 years in prison for oil theft and money laundering in late 2010. They were set to be released in 2017, considering the time they had already served for their convictions from their first trial in 2005. However, on May 24, the Moscow City Court reduced their sentences by one year and now they are expected to be released in 2016.