The suit names state-owned gas behemoth Gazprom, Gazpromneft, Baikalfinansgroup, and state-run oil producer Rosneft, seeking "in excess of 20 billion (dollars) for their role in expropriating Yuganskneftgaz in December 2004," a Yukos statement from Friday said. The company also said it had filed a plan of reorganization with the Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of Texas explaining "how it plans to complete its Chapter 11 case and treat fairly its creditors, shareholders and the Russian government in that plan." Yukos said it had asked the court to set May 1, 2005 as the deadline for any claims in the bankruptcy case and to submit any Russian overnment claim to international arbitration. The Russian government seized control of Yukos bank accounts late last year and the group's main asset Yuganskneftegaz ended up in the hands of a state-controlled oil company through a disputed auction. Although the government justified its actions on the grounds of a 24.5 billion dollar bill for unpaid taxes many observers said the pursuit of Yukos was retribution for its former boss Mikhail Khodorkovsky funding opposition political parties. Russian authorities sold Yuganskneftegaz to Baikalfinansgroup a previously unknown entity, for 9.35 billion dollars (seven billion euros) in an auction December 19. Another company, mid-sized Russian state-run oil producer Rosneft subsequently announced it had bought Baikalfinansgroup. Gazprom, foiled in its original plan to bid for Yugans, is now positioned to take over Rosneft. The marriage would give the Russian government a controlling stake in the world's biggest energy concern. Yuganskneftegaz pumps a million barrels a day and owns 17 percent of Russia's vast oil reserves. To prevent the selloff of its crown jewels and its the effective break-up, Yukos filed for bankruptcy protection in US courts on December 14. A US bankruptcy judge in Houston, Texas issued a temporary injunction barring the sale. The embattled energy group continues to fight back through the courts. Group Menatep, the main shareholder in Yukos, on Wednesday said it had filed a 28.3-billion-dollar(22.2-billion-euro)claim for compensation from the Russian government for dismantling the company. Menatep, an offshore holding entity for the top Yukos shareholders that controls 51 percent of Yukos brought its action under the Energy Charter Treaty, a multilateral accord designed to enforce international law in energy investments. Russia has signed, but not ratified, the treaty. It was filed with the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, based in Vienna. Earlier in the week Yukos said it was dropping suits against several global banks after learning they did not participate in the sale of its assets. They are: ABN Amro of the Netherlands; BNP Paribas and Calyon of France; US-based JP Morgan Chase Bank, and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein of Germany. But Yukos said it remained "focused on finding out the truth" about the auction and that the US Bankruptcy Court "is the best venue for its case." In its latest move Friday Yukos said it was not currently suing Deutsche Bank for damages but would continue a suit against Germany's biggest bank to bar it from violating the stay granted by the Texas bankruptcy court. PIN//AFP