Witness Testimony Summary: Yekaterina Rumyantseva
Testimony Dates:
Bio:
Yekaterina Rumyantseva is an attorney at the ALM-Feldmans law firm, where she began working as a law clerk in 1996. Ms. Rumyantseva continued to work at the firm, first as a jurist, then as an attorney-in-training and, beginning in 2004, as an attorney.
Testimony Summary:
Ms. Rumyantseva testified that as a clerk, then as a junior associate, she completed tasks based on instructions from partners and associates, including Mr. Ivlev. About her knowledge of YUKOS, Ms. Rumyantseva testified that she was familiar with Messrs. Kecha and Mistryukov, whom she knew as representatives of the client within the YUKOS project. Ms. Rumyantseva testified that she had contacts with the aforementioned persons when working on YUKOS and received most of her instructions from Mr. Ivlev.
Ms. Rumyantseva testified about the "Bank-Client" electronic payment system installed pursuant to instructions from YUKOS. Ms. Rumyantseva testified that the client requested this system to be implemented for several companies, Nassaubridge being one of them. According to Ms. Rumyantseva, the electronic payment system simplified the transfer of funds, as it was no longer necessary for any of the law firm's employees to visit the bank in order to initiate a transfer. Ms. Rumyantseva testified that she handled the vast majority of initiated transfers. Ms. Rumyantseva explained the mechanics of initiating a transfer from the client company's bank account, including what paperwork - such as payment orders - was involved. Ms. Rumyantseva explained that she was not the one performing the actual transfer - that was done by the bank. She explained that she made sure all necessary paperwork was prepared.
Ms. Rumyantseva's interrogation transcripts were read into the record. The first transcript was from November 16, 2004. Most of the questions focused on the mechanics of using the electronic payment system "Bank-Client," with Ms. Rumyantseva actually explaining that most of her work was "technical" - entering data into computer, while following the clients' instructions.
Next interrogation took place on December 15, 2004. [An audio tape of this interrogation was missing from the case file. -Eds.] Ms. Rumyantseva testified about her work with Hicksville Management and Glenoaks Investment. The rest of the interrogation focused, once again, on "Bank-Client." Ms. Rumyantseva testified that her instructions came from Mr. Ivlev, who identified them as coming from "the Client," which she understood to mean YUKOS. At the end of the interrogation Ms. Rumyantseva's attorney used his right to direct an on-the-record question to his client. Ms. Rumyantseva, answering her attorney's questions, testified that she only acted pursuant to instructions and did not undertake anything of her own initiative. She explained that she was an employee of the law firm, was paid a salary, and was expected to follow instructions, and thought she would face termination if she did not do so. According to Ms. Rumyantseva, she had no reservations about following Mr. Ivlelv's instructions, because she never doubted his professionalism and competence.
The last transcript was from July 2, 2007, and was almost exclusively focused on two companies - YUKOS Capital S.a.r.l. and YUKOS Finance B.V. Ms. Rumyantseva testified that she was authorized to open bank accounts for these companies and authorized to perform transactions for these companies using "Bank-Client."
On cross-examination, Ms. Rumyantseva identified YUKOS subsidiaries with she worked, including Yuganskneftegaz, Samaraneftegaz, Ratibor, VNK and other. She testified that she never received any instructions from the client or her superiors which she thought to be unlawful. She concluded by testifying that at no time she perceived a conflict between the instructions and her professionals responsibilities which would have prompted her to object to implementing those instructions.