????Norex公司在其起訴書中聲稱，為了獲得Yugraneft油田的控制權，秋明石油公司做了兩件事情。其一，一位與秋明石油公司有關聯的債權人于1998年為一筆未嘗賬單對Chernogorneft公司提起訴訟。后來，Chernogorneft公司和英國石油公司都表示愿意償還債務，但這位債權人又拒絕接受。由于這筆未償付的債務，Chernogorneft公司被迫進入了Norex公司所稱的“破產陷阱”。

????事態發展令英國石油公司憂心如焚，它甚至說服時任英國首相托尼?布萊爾進行干預。布萊爾于1999年9月致函弗拉基米爾?普京，表達了他的驚愕之情。“（英國石油公司擔心）有人將要把一家原本健康且具備盈利能力的公司置于破產倒閉的境地，”布萊爾寫道。“這起案件……事關未來的外國直接投資流入，對于俄羅斯經濟的復蘇至關重要。”

????但一位地方法官——Norex公司在其起訴書中稱，他是由“秋明石油公司時任主席”直接任命的——最終還是宣布Chernogorneft公司破產。

????Norex公司聲稱，秋明石油公司隨后掌控了Chernogorneft公司的破產競拍流程。只有與秋明石油公司有關聯的公司才被允許參加封閉式的拍賣程序。Norex公司獲得的一份解密的中情局（CIA）備忘錄，文件顯示，Sidanco公司官員后來從法庭獲得了推遲破產程序的裁定，但是武裝護衛卻阻止法警交付相關文件。秋明石油公司最終以區區1.76億美元的價格就購買了Chernogorneft公司的資產，這一價格大約只相當于該公司實際價值的三分之一。

????“我們認為整個破產程序是無效的，”英國石油公司俄羅斯公司時任對外事務主管霍華德?蔡斯在一封電子郵件中寫道。現在已成為英國石油公司國際事務主任的蔡斯還寫道：“我們認為，這是一場徹頭徹尾的鬧劇。武裝護衛阻止Sidanco公司官員進入Chernogorneft辦事處履行法庭禁令——只有俄羅斯才會發生這種事！”

????起訴書顯示，此后，Norex在Yugraneft公司的股權先是縮水，并最終被武力奪取。“2天后……（秋明石油公司官員亞歷山大?伯曼）、該公司雇傭的6位律師和16名身穿迷彩服、手持AK-47沖鋒槍的武裝人員強行闖入Yugraneft公司的辦事處，假稱伯曼已被推舉為Yugraneft公司總經理，并控制了Yugraneft的油田。2001年7月6日，（秋明石油公司的私人武裝人員）切斷了Yugraneft公司的電話和網線，占領了Yugraneft油田和辦事處，最終導致該公司外籍員工逃離了這個國家。”

存心冒險

????這些文件顯示，秋明石油公司控制了Yugraneft油田之后，英國石油公司官員非常擔憂。“倘若無法撤銷這種非法出售行為……那么，我們就打算下個月退出Sidanco公司，”長期在英國石油公司擔任高管職務的邁克?湯森在1999年秋天向其高管同僚發送的一封電郵中這樣寫道。

????Norex claims in its lawsuit that TNK did two things to seize control of Yugraneft. First, in 1998 a TNK-related creditor sued Chernogorneft for an unpaid bill. When both Chernogorneft and BP offered to pay the bill, the creditor refused to take the money. With an outstanding bill, Chernogorneft was forced into what Norex claims was a ginned-up bankruptcy.

????BP was so worried about the proceedings that the company prevailed on then Prime Minister Tony Blair to intervene. Blair wrote a letter to Vladimir Putin in September of 1999, expressing his dismay. "[BP fears] that what should and could be a healthy and profitable company will be manipulated into bankruptcy and collapse," Blair wrote. "The case… will be critical to future in-flows of foreign direct investment, so vital to Russian economic revival."

????But a regional judge – whom Norex says in its complaint was appointed by "TNK's then Chairman" -- ultimately declared Chernogorneft bankrupt.

????Norex alleges that TNK then took control of the Chernogorneft bankruptcy auction. Only TNK-related companies were allowed to participate in the closed auction. When Sidanco officials obtained court orders to postpone the proceedings, armed guards blocked bailiffs from delivering the documents, according to a declassified CIA memo obtained by Norex. TNK ultimately bought the assets for just $176 million, about a third of the company's worth, according to the memo.

????"We regard the entire bankruptcy process as invalid," Howard Chase, BP Russia's then-director of external affairs wrote in an email. Chase, who is now Director of International Affairs for BP (BP), also wrote: "We understand that the fun went on right to the end. Sidanco officials were prevented by armed guards from entering the Chernogorneft offices to serve an injunction – just another day in Russia!"

????Norex's stake in Yugraneft dwindled, and was eventually taken by force, according to the complaint. "Two days later… [TNK official Alexander Berman], six TNK attorneys, and sixteen TNK militia members dressed in fatigues and carrying AK-47 machine guns forcibly entered Yugraneft's corporate offices, falsely declared that Berman had been elected Yugraneft's General Director, and took control over Yugraneft's oil filed. On July 6, 2001, [TNK's private armed militia members] cut off Yugraneft's phone and Internet service, and occupied Yugraneft's oil field and field office, causing Yugraneft's foreign employees to flee the country."

A calculated risk

????After TNK took control of the Yugraneft oil field, documents show that BP officials were worried. "If a reversal of this illegal sale cannot be achieved... then we need to prepare to exit Sidanco over the next month," Mike Townshend, a longtime BP executive, wrote in an email to fellow executives in the fall of 1999.