RusEnergy

07.06.2005 11:23 MSK MosNews - A Novorossiysk court Tuesday sanctioned the arrest of the city’s Sea Trade Port director general at the request of the local Interior Ministry on suspicion of tax evasion. Defense lawyers claim the arrest is part of a fight for control over one of Russia’s major ports, Gazeta.ru reported. The Novorossiysk Prosecutor's Office filed a lawsuit against Vladimir Kovbasyuk at the beginning of May, charging him with evading almost 40 million rubles ($1.4 million) of taxes in 2003-2004. Kovbasyuk is in hospital at the moment and his reaction to the court's decision is unknown. Kovbasyuk's lawyers claim the court's ruling has more to do with the fight for control over the Novorossiysk port, Russia's major oil terminal in the south, than with tax evasion. The lawyers also said they thought somebody could have "ordered" the case, considering the fact that the port even surpassed the estimated tax payments for the period in question.