The State Property Committee has done an excellent job of fulfilling the government's order to prevent all but two specific banks from participating in the loans-for-shares auctions.
We were able to accumulate [the $350 million dollar deposit required for participation in the auction], but had to gather it over the course of six months. The interesting thing would be to know how Menatep gathered its money [so quickly]. It's no secret that we bankers have quite adequate sources when it comes to what goes on with our colleagues' funds. It would be a fair guess to say that Menatep received at least $120 million from either the Finance Ministry or from Yukos itself -- a part of the funds that it still owes the budget. Maybe there is even a third source we don't know about.
Kommersant Daily, Dec. 7
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