Yukos owes US$3.4 billion in back taxes which it has to pay before 31 August. It has already coughed up around US$750 million.

This move comes on the back of an earlier TNK-BP announcement which said it had agreed to buy Yukos’ stake in Rospan but was not sure if the sale would go through due to Russian government restrictions.

Citing “people familiar with the deal” the WSJ said in its report, “Yukos sold its 56% stake in its Rospan a gas joint venture to TNK-BP for US$357 million.”

“Yukos itself has been forbidden by the Russian authorities from selling assets, but the oil giant contended that, as its shares in Rospan were held through a Cyprus-registered company, they weren’t subject to the asset freeze,” added the insiders.

When contacted by the WSJ, both Yukos and TNK-BP chose not to comment.