Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the jailed former Yukos CEO, made a last ditch bid yesterday to hold off the creditors by offering his shares in Yukos to pay the massive tax bill after the company admitted it was not able to pay the debt without help from the government.

The 41-year-old Khodorkovsky, in jail awaiting trial on tax evasion and fraud charges, owns a controlling stake in Group Menatep which owns about 53% of Yukos.

Last week the company predicted it would have to sell off its production assets in a fire sale to meet the debt prompting the courts to freeze its bank accounts, preventing the company from selling any businesses to raise money.

Now the Russian Justice Ministry has revealed that bailiffs are currently "enforcing the court decision", and launched criminal proceedings accusing Yukos of obstructing enforcement of the court order.

Law enforcement officers accompanied by interior ministry troops searched the office of Yukos' registrar in Moscow and seized the contents of oil company managers' safes. The company has about US$1.4 billion in cash on hand, according to chief financial officer Bruce Misamore.

Yukos also faces a similar tax bill from 2001, with the tax ministry warning that additional bills for unpaid taxes in 2002 and 2003 may yet be levied.