From: BBC News

Fear of arrest has forced all the top executives at Russian oil giant Yukos to remain outside of Russia.
The entire management board met in London earlier this week and remains in Europe, a spokeswoman said on Thursday.

Since the management board left Russia, prosecutors have requested an interview with Yukos' finance chief.

Last week, the government said it would sell the company's main asset in December, with a starting price which may be as little as half its value.

Shares in the company have plunged 30% on the news and are now worth less than a dollar each, a fraction of the $16 they were worth in October 2003.

Executives currently in London include Steven Theede, the company's American chief executive.

Chief financial officer Bruce Misamore told the Financial Times he was summoned by the Russian general prosecutor's office for questioning yesterday, but told them he was on a business trip.

"I am not going to sacrifice my life for [Russia's] political purposes," he said, speaking from London.

When asked if Mr Misamore had left the country for good, a Yukos spokeswoman told BBC News that he is "awaiting counsel from the US State Department over whether it is safe to go back for questioning [by the Russian general prosecutor's office]".

Mr Misamore later told the Associated Press that if the threat of arrest was removed, ""then the management will be in Moscow".

The Prosecutor General's office confirmed that he was summoned for questions but declined to offer further details.

Some commentators have accused Yukos management of exaggerating their plight to gain sympathy.

Limited options

Fellow executives on the management board of the holding company for all Yukos companies are still in Europe, though spokeswoman Claire Davidson of The Policy Partnership was reluctant to give exact locations.

"They are talking to stakeholders including investors, financial analysts and advisers, sharing scenarios for going forward," she said.

The company's options are limited, but Ms Davidson said the board would report back on its plans for the business following these discussions.

Its options are limited as the company's assets and many of its bank accounts have been frozen.

However, Ms Davidson said the the company was continuing to pump out oil, since the managers of individual operating companies were still in place.

When asked on Thursday if the management board of the holding company would be returning to Russia, she said: "The senior management team will go where they have to go. They will go where analysts, investors and debtors need to be, including Russia."

Target

Until now shareholders in the company, such as Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev, have been the main focus of the government's ire. Both are in prison, with Mr Khodorkovsky currently standing trial on charges of fraud and tax evasion.

Yukos faces a massive tax bill of more than $20bn. But Yukos executives say the government's actions are politically motivated.

Russian president Vladimir Putin is believed to have disliked oligarchs like Mr Khodorkovsky meddling in politics.

His government last week approved a forced sale of Yuganskneftegas, Yukos' main production arm, for as little as $8.6bn when independent valuations of the business by investment banks have assessed its worth at $15bn-20bn.