A CONSORTIUM based in Britain has offered to bail out Russian oil company Yukos in return for a stake in the crisis-ridden company.

The investor group - led by a former Yukos official and shareholder now living in the UK - has written to President Vladimir Putin outlining its proposals.

It wants to settle the company's tax liabilities and take the 44 per cent stake of founder, former chief executive and largest shareholder Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who is on trial for fraud and tax evasion. It will also meet his bail.

Earlier this week, Yukos said it would go bankrupt if it was forced to pay a £1.8bn tax bill levied by the Russian government for 2000. It also warned a plan by Russian authorities to force the sale of its main subsidiary would bring about its collapse.

Teesside chemical company Davy Process Technology said it is unaffected by the ongoing controversy, despite Yukos being its parent group.

The Thornaby operation, which employs 68 people, said it was financially independent of Yukos.

Details on how the consortium plans to fund the offer, or the full make-up of the group, have not been released.

A London-based spokesman confirmed it involved Konstantin Kagalovsky, who is a former Yukos minority shareholder and who played a role in the privatisation of the business in 1995. None of the group is resident in Russia.

The spokesman said the consortium wanted to open talks with President Putin before discussing how much the plan would cost.

He said: "We have not raised the issue of the amount of money - it is unclear what the tax liabilities are.

"We are well aware that we are talking in the billions and we have sufficient funds to cover that."

Yukos primarily exports to eastern European countries, while about 55 million barrels a year go to China.