MOSCOW, June 24 (UPI) -- Russia's oil giant Yukos, fighting hefty tax bills, fired its Chief Executive Simon Kukes, a Russian-born American, who took the job only in November.
Kukes had replaced company founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russia's wealthiest man now in prison on fraud and tax evasion charges, the BBC reported Thursday.
No reason was given for Kukes' removal, which came at the end of the company's annual meeting.
Yukos, which is under pressure to pay $3.4 billion in back taxes, announced Steven Theede, its chief operation officer, will replace Kukes.
"My task in my new post is to maintain the leading position of Yukos," Theede said in a statement.
The company, trying to work with Russian officials on the tax bills, also appointed former Russian central bank head Victor Gerashchenko as chairman of its board.
