Embattled Russian oil giant raided

The head office of the embattled Russian oil giant Yukos was raided by law enforcement agencies.

The Interfax news agency said authorities were searching for and confiscating documents at Yukos's Moscow office and at the company’s main subsidiary, Yuganskneftegaz.

“The investigation is being conducting as part of the probe into Yuganskneftegaz tax debts for 2000,” a law enforcement source said.

Yukos, Russia’s largest oil producer, is facing a crippling €14.2bn back tax bill and former chief executive, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, is in prison charged with tax evasion and fraud.

He was once Russia’s richest man.

The two-sided legal assault is widely considered to be punishment for Khodorkovsky’s political activities and an attempt for the state to reclaim lost influence in the strategically important sector by selling Yukos assets into Kremlin-friendly hands.