Gloves come off in BP’s Russian row

A dispute between BP and its Russian partners over the future of their TNK-BP joint venture has escalated into open warfare, with the UK oil giant threatened with a legal showdown and the company’s chairman, Peter Sutherland, accused of using Nazi propaganda tactics.

In an extraordinary series of attacks on BP yesterday, Mikhail Fridman, billionaire chairman of TNK-BP, said he would ask the courts to remove the venture’s chief executive, Bob Dudley, and halt an “illegal” shareholder meeting next week.

Meanwhile, Mr Fridman’s co-investor, Viktor Vekselberg, likened the situation inside TNK-BP to a “madhouse”.

TNK-BP, which is Russia’s third largest oil producer and accounts for 25pc of BP’s output, has been in a state of unrest for weeks as both sides fight for control of the 50-50 joint venture.

Telegraph