Sibneft settles tax claims

Russia's oil company Sibneft has settled all its tax claims by paying $ 300 mm to the state, less than a third of the initial claim. Sources close to Sibneft said the company had managed to persuade tax officials to cut its bill for 2000-2001 from the initial figure of $ 1 bn.
"We paid $ 300 mm for all the years, and it happened a long time ago," one source said.

Back-dated tax claims have become the main fear for investors in Russia after the destruction of the country's largest oil firm Yukos, which was presented with a tax claim for $ 27.5 bn for 2000-2003.