Shareholders in Yukos, the troubled Russian oil company, are preparing to write off their investments ahead of an extraordinary meeting next week. Minority investors, who own about 25% of the company, will push for bankruptcy if the EGM goes ahead. However, many are resigned to losing their money.

Ivan Mazalov, an oil and gas analyst at Prosperity Capital Management, a Moscow-based fund manager, said: "We always liked the idea of bankruptcy, but the administrators have to take it to the Russian courts to get it approved. That's the big problem. I'm not holding out any hope for Yukos to win a court victory." Yukos has suffered a string of court defeats, including three in the past week.