MOSCOW, November 13 (RAPSI) - AFK Sistema has announced on Thursday that it won't appeal against the court ruling ordering the company to forfeit Bashneft stock.

The Moscow Commercial Court on October 30 granted the lawsuit filed by the Prosecutor General’s Office, thus ordering Sistema and its subsidiary, Sistema-Invest, to forfeit 71, 6% of Bahsneft stock to the state. In the lawsuit, Prosecutor’s Office stated that the privatization of Bashneft facilities, owned by the state, was conducted illegally and without the federal authorities permission.

Sistema added that the company plans to file compensation clainms against Bashneft stock sellers.

Bashneft was privatized in 2009. It was controlled by the government of Russia’s Bashkortostan region until 2003, when a major stake was sold to companies affiliated with Ural Rakhimov, son of the former head of Bashkortostan Murtaza Rakhimov.

In 2009, Russian oil-to-telecoms conglomerate AFK Sistema gained control of the company.  Investigators opened a criminal case last April linked to deals with Bashneft shares in 2002 to 2009.

Rakhimov and billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov were implicated in the sale of Bashneft stock in 2009. Rakhimov was charged in absentia with embezzlement and money laundering, put on the international wanted list.

Yevtushenkov, the board chairman and largest beneficiary of AFK Sistema, stands charged with money laundering.

AFK Sistema directly owned almost 72% of voting shares of Bashneft, which produces about 350,000 barrels of oil a day, and an overall stake of 86.7%, including 12.6% via Sistema-Invest.