Russia's embattled oil giant Yukos warned on Thursday that it would file for bankruptcy if the government sells its major subsidiary to cover a huge back taxes bill.

The company is making every effort to raise funds to repay the 3.4-billion-dollar bill for the year 2000 charged by the tax authorities, Interfax news agency cited a statement from the firm as reporting.

However, if the efforts fail and Yukanskneftegas is sold, the company would be compelled to announce bankruptcy, the statement said.

Yukos shares plunged 12 percent to 146 rubles (some 5 US dollars) on Moscow's MICEX exchange soon after the release of the statement, Interfax reported.

The Justice Ministry said Tuesday that they would sell Yukanskneftegas, a core Yukos subsidiary accounting for about 60 percent of the company's output, amid the ongoing back taxes case against the second largest oil producer of Russia.

Yukos has warned that the bill would drive it into bankruptcy because it could not raise enough cash for the payment after its assets were frozen by an earlier court order.

Yukos has appealed to the Russian government, ministries and other relevant departments to avoid bankruptcy, the Yukos statement said.

The company pledged that it would continue searching compromises with the Russian authorities by restructuring its tax debt and preventing the confiscation of its assets.

Source: Xinhua