MOSCOW, September 17 - RAPSI. The Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals will hear on October 9 an appeal filed by Yukos Capital S.a.r.l. against the ruling invalidating four loan contracts under which the company granted $359.1 million to Yuganskneftegaz, the court told RAPSI on Monday.

On June 28, the Moscow Commercial Court satisfied the respective lawsuit filed by IK Vesta, a Rosneft shareholder, which joined Yuganskneftegaz (which used to be a major asset of YUKOS which went bankrupt).

Yukos Capital S.a.r.l. and Rosneft were announced as the defendants in the case.

IK 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 subsequently took over the former YUKOS subsidiary Yuganskneftegaz. Vesta believes the transactions were bogus and aimed to cover 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, IK Vesta provided evidence that it has been a Rosneft shareholder since June 2007. In the plaintiff's 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.