BP's Moscow office resumes work after raids-company

BP's Moscow office resumed work on Monday after last week's law enforcement raids, a company spokesman said. "Employees are at their work stations," he said. On Wednesday, investigators searched the office in a case brought against BP by a group of minority shareholders in its Russian joint venture TNK-BP, which says that the collapse of a $16-billion share swap and Arctic development agreement between BP and Russian major Rosneft led to a $3-billion loss to TNK-BP. The court ordered BP to hand over documents connected to the Rosneft deal. BP has denied any wrongdoing. The BP-Rosneft alliance collapsed after BP's partners in TNK-BP won a court ruling to support a TNK-BP shareholder agreement which says any significant involvement in the Russian energy sector must first be offered to the company. Media and analysts have said that the court action shows signs of legal tactics used by one of TNK-BP partners, Alfa Group, notorious for its inclination to fierce corporate wars.