BP, the British oil giant, has been forced to recall 148 employees from its Russian joint venture due to alleged visa problems, just days after the local Government arrested one of the company's employees on charges of industrial espionage.

The 148 staff who work at TNK-BP have been recalled temporarily because of a "lack of clarity over their current visa status", said a spokeswoman for the joint venture.

Last week, officers from Russia's Interior Ministry raided TNK-BP's head office and seized documents as part of an investigation into Sidanko Oil, a company that became part of the joint venture in 2003. At the same time, two prominent members of the British Council’s alumni club in Russia were charged by the Russian security service with spying for foreign companies.

Brothers Alexander and Ilya Zaslavsky were accused of collecting commercial secrets from a Russian oil company on behalf of foreign rivals in the energy market. Ilya Zaslavsky has been employed by TNK-BP since last September in the gas regulation department.

TNK-BP is Russia's third largest oil group and was formed by BP and a number of Russian billionaires including Mikhail Fridman at Alfa Group, the conglomerate and Viktor Vekselberg at Renova, the asset management business.

BP's staff recall appears to be the latest salvo from the Russian Government as it tries to tighten control over the country's oil assets against Western businesses.

TNK-BP has been the subject of more than $1 billion in tax claims from the Kremlin and was forced to give up control of the Siberian gasfield, Kovykta, to the state-run Gazprom.

Also Shell, the Anglo-Dutch group, and its Japanese partners in the $20 billion Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project were forced to sell a controlling stake to the state-run Gazprom.

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