Khodorkovsky: To Continue the Trial in Such Conditions Would be Illegal
At the hearing on February 17, Mikhail Khodorkovsky asked Judge Danilkin to suspend the trial, as the prosecutor declared the purpose of investigation.
Khodorkovsky said: "Yesterday Prosecutor Valery Lakhtin officially declared that he was investigating how the embezzled money that went into YUKOS' accounts were spent at my discretion. He was trying to explain why he had asked a witness about the money transfer from YUKOS' accounts to those of Yauza Company."
Speaking directly to Judge Danilkin, Khodorkovsky added: "I would like to stress that this transfer is not a part of the accusation. If you believe that Prosecutor Lakhtin is an official representative, not an irresponsible person, you must suspend the trial. The prosector in fact has dropped the accusations of me having appropriated all oil that YUKOS extracted. The fact that YUKOS was getting revenue from oil sales means that I could not have possibly appropriated YUKOS oil."