BP to Sue AAR for $365 Mln Paid in Russian Back Taxes

Reuters MOSCOW — BP said Saturday that it was suing its partners in TNK-BP in London for 8.4 billion rubles ($365 million), money it believes should not have been paid out as back tax claims in Russia. The move comes on top of other problems at TNK-BP, a 50-50 joint venture whose owners, BP and four Russian billionaires, are locked in a dispute over strategy and management control. “It relates to our initial shareholder agreement signed in 2003, which said all back tax claims prior to the creation of the TNK-BP venture must be paid by the Russians,” said Vladimir Buyanov, BP’s Moscow-based spokesman. “It has nothing to do with the current dispute.” TNK-BP has had to pay more than $2 billion in back tax claims over the past few years, with some claims relating to the period prior to 2003, before the current venture was... [read full story]