A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Thursday dealt a blow to Yukos’ bankruptcy case, ruling the embattled Russian oil company cannot seek information about whether oil monopoly Gazprom illegally took part in the sale of Yukos’ main oil producing unit

A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Thursday dealt a blow to Yukos’ bankruptcy case, ruling the embattled Russian oil company cannot seek information about whether oil monopoly Gazprom illegally took part in the sale of Yukos’ main oil producing unit. In her ruling, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Letitia Clark backed Gazprom’s former unit Gazpromneft and said Yukos fact-finding must be limited to issues related to whether the U.S. court has jurisdiction in the case, Reuters news agency reported. Yukos made its surprise bankruptcy filing in Houston last month in a bid to halt the sale of its Yugansk unit, which Russian authorities auctioned off in their efforts to recoup part of $27.5 billion in back taxes the government says Yukos owes. The court will hear arguments in a two-day hearing beginning Feb. 16 on whether to continue the bankruptcy proceedings or throw the case out of the U.S. court. Yukos lawyer Zack Clement had argued that Gazpromneft violated the court’s rulings by taking part in the December auction of Yugansk.