Federal services raid BP offices in Moscow

Moscow -- Russia's Federal Security Service raided British Petroleum offices in Moscow but didn't give a reason for the move, a company spokesman said.

BP spokesman Vladimir Buyanov declined to give the reason for the investigation and the FSB "does not give out such information," the Moscow Times reported Wednesday.

Speculation persists that the government is putting pressure on BP to pave the way for a state-run company to take over a BP venture, TNK-BP, which is half owned by a group of Russian investors.

The raid didn't cause a major work interruption and the TNK-BP office wasn't raided, the company said.

The FSB is investigating company employees on industrial espionage concerns. In March, the FSB raided the company's Moscow offices and 148 foreign BP employees were suspended from their jobs due to work permit problems, the Times reported.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.