The Tumen Oil Company (TNK) continues the illegal seizure of Yugraneft Corporation and its primary shareholder Norex Petroleum Ltd’s assets.

At the end of last year the so-called general director of Yugraneft Corporation Mr. Berman, whose appointment to this position was a result of a counterfeited record of Yugraneft shareholders’ meeting, announced a special shareholders’ meeting to be held. It was scheduled to December 29, 2001 and had the following on the agenda: the election of a general director and a board of directors of the company. In this connection ‘Norex Petroleum Ltd”, the company’s main shareholder, lodged a protest. A copy of the protest was sent to the economical crimes administration of the Criminal Police Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and also to Nizhnevartovsk regional procurator’s oofice and the procurator’s office of the city of Nizhnevartovsk (the copy of the protest is attached).

At the absence of quorum the assembly didn’t take place.

On Jan. 18, 2002 ‘Norex’ received a new notification about an assembly to be held, that had been scheduled to Jan. 17, and did take place… But at the absence of representatives of Norex. The very Mr. Berman was elected general director by the representatives of TNK.

The decisions made at the shareholders’ meeting of Yugraneft Corporation are as illegal as all the previous and other new actions of TNK have been on the matter. Here is an incomplete list of TNK’s unlawful actions: falsification of the minutes of Berman’s election, the armed seizure of the office and manufacturing base of Yugraneft Corporation the company’s money transmission to Alpha-bank, establishing control over oil realization, that is now carried out through TNK, individual disposal of press, the company’s assets and property, violation of the labor code.

In the same chain there is the initialization of criminal proceedings in the courts of Khanty-Mansiisk autonomous region (HMAR), demanding to acknowledge the major portion of Norex Petroleum Ltd’s deposits into charter capital of Yugraneft Corporation invalid. Yugraneft corporation was a defendant as well. The evidence from Yugraneft was presented to the court all by the same Berman. This so-called evidence had nothing in common with the actual situation. Moreover, Berman hurried to agree with the plaintiff’s arguments. As a result, on Jan. 24, 2002 the arbitration court of the HMAR decided to acknowledge Norex’s deposit invalid. As soon as the court’s decision comes into legal force Norex will have to transmit most of its stock to the balance of the Corporation, which means to loose them.

Meanwhile, the matter of Yugraneft Corporation other shareholder’s payment which Norex considers Chernogorneft to be, and also of its size is still being considered in the arbitration courts of different instances. It is not b chance that the procurator’s office of HMAR is considering Chernogorneft’s deposit into Yugraneft’s charter capital itself a “know-how” that has resulted in a “rough violation of national interest”.

These are the consequences of TNK’s illegal actions, that haven’t been properly evaluated by the corresponding federal bodies and haven’t been put to an end on time. The logic of TNK’s further actions is rather clear. The consequences of these actions are obvious. TNK mustn’t have any illusions hoping that its actions will stay without a proper response.

Norex Petroleum Ltd
Jan. 24, 2002.