The ownership stake in the broadcaster Euronews held by a large Russian state media company has been frozen by a court based on claims against Moscow by former shareholders of the defunct oil firm Yukos.
Pyotr Fedorov, a senior executive at Russia's VGTRK media giant, confirmed to the RIA Novosti news agency on October 29 that his company's 7.5 percent stake in Euronews was frozen following a court order.
VGTRK's press office also confirmed the action and said further details would be available after "judicial proceedings."
It was not clear which court in which country had ordered the freezing of VGTRK's stake in Euronews, which is owned by a French company.
The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration ordered Russia in July 2014 to pay some 45 billion euros ($50 billion) in compensation to former shareholders of Yukos who went to court after Moscow seized and liquidated the ex-oil giant shortly after the 2003 arrest of its billionaire owner, Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Russia has refused to fulfill the court's Yukos judgement and in June Russian state assets -- including embassy bank accounts -- were temporarily frozen in France and Belgium.
