Prosecution Strengthens Khodorkovsky's Defense
At the hearing of the prosecutor's witness Yulia Smirnova, a former employee of YUKOS-Moskva, she confirmed that the Russian regulatory authorities had no claims against YUKOS.
Smirnova added that Mikhail Khodorkovsky had a very strict company policy with regards complying with the law. She referred to an episode in 1999 where he warned his employees at a staff meeting that they would be fired if they attempted to break the law.
She also confirmed the company complied with the Russian tax legislation. Smirnova noted that "it was right for any vertically integrated company to set its internal prices", calling the prosecutor's claim about YUKOS as "absurd".
She stressed that YUKOS used tax benifits after several consulting companies advised that it was legal. She added: "No special schemes were designed."