Russian bankrupt oil company Yukos will have to defend itself in a fraud lawsuit, a US judge has ruled.
Yukos and its former CFO Bruce Misamore will be asked to respond to allegations of mis-stating the company's tax risk to investors.
In 2003, Russian authorities arrested Yukos' former president Mikhail Khodorkovsky and seized his 44% equity stake in the company.
Khodorkovsky was jailed after being found guilty of fraud, embezzlement and evasion of personal income taxes. He is now serving an eight-year sentence in a penal colony in eastern Siberia.
Yukos was also accused by the Russian Ministry of Taxation of tax evasion between 2001 and 2003, and for underpaying its taxes by more than $27.5bn.
The bankruptcy hearing of Yukos began earlier in March in Moscow.
410
Yukos Faces Fraud Claim
Russian oil company Yukos and its former financial head will have to defend themselves in a fraud lawsuit