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Khodorkovsky's $11,500 ECHR Damages Transferred to Russian Federal Budget

Mikhail Khodorkovsky

Court bailiffs have transferred 750,000 rubles ($11,500) that were awarded to former Yukos owner Mikhail Khodorkovsky by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to the federal budget, the Federal Bailiff Service (FBS) reported Tuesday.

According to the Federal Tax Service, Khodorkovsky owes more than 17.5 billion rubles ($270 million) in tax arrears, as outlined in a civil suit against him and his former business partner Platon Lebedev.

In December, a regional Moscow court foreclosed the money awarded to Khodorkovsky by the ECHR, and on June 3, the Justice Ministry transferred the sum’s ruble equivalent to the FBS. The money has now been transferred to the federal budget.

In 2013, the ECHR awarded Khodorkovsky 10,000 euros as compensation for alleged moral damages and human rights violations committed by the Russian government during his 2005 jailing for tax evasion.

Even though Khodorkovsky never asked for compensation, the court found that his property rights had been violated as a result of the Russian court’s decision. He had planned to give the money to charity.

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