Russia's OAO TNK-BP (TNBP.RS), half owned by BP PLC (BP.LN), is facing a back tax claim worth 22.5 billion rubles ($951 million), the Vedomosti business daily reported Friday, citing sources at the Interior Ministry, which has opened a criminal case.
The authorities are revisiting an old claim relating to unpaid profit tax, an unnamed TNK-BP official told the paper.
TNK-BP has faced back tax claims before, but they have since largely been settled.
Its shareholders are currently at odds over the position of Chief Executive Robert Dudley with the Russian billionaires that own the other half of the company seeking his dismissal.
In addition, TNK-BP's offices have been raised by security services in what many analysts believe is pressure ahead of a state-owned energy company acquiring a stake in the company.