LONDON (Alliance News) - JKX Oil & Gas PLC on Thursday said the national police of Ukraine have carried out another surprise raid on the offices of its local subsidiary, Poltava Petroleum Co.
The latest of these "unexpected searches" were part of an investigation that started in June last year, when police raided Poltava's offices for the first time, as well as the homes of two senior employees, in search of evidence related to allegations the firm has underpaid production taxes.
JKX Oil and Ukraine have been battling over the amount of production taxes owed by the London-listed company's subsidiary since 2011.
"Poltava Petroleum is fully cooperating with the investigation, but nevertheless believes that it is in full legal compliance with matters outlined in the warrant and that the action is completely without merit," said JKX Oil on Thursday.
Tom Reed, the chief executive of the London-listed company, said: "We will be bringing this matter up with the relevant authorities in Kiev. I believe these actions to be a distraction for JKX and damaging to Ukraine's investment climate."
JKX shares were down 2.1% to 30.61 pence per share on Thursday.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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