TNK-BP Loses Injunction against Exposure for "Corrupt Practices"

London’s High Court of Justice overturned an injunction granted to TNK-BP in its unauthorized disclosure case against former senior executive Igor Lazurenko, who allegedly threatened to expose company's involvement in corruption in Russia. Lazurenko had been serving in senior positions at TNK-BP since 2003 when he submitted his resignation this past April. His departure from the TNK-BP came in the wake of the company’s decision to probe the alleged receipt by Lazurenko of substantial sums of money. This past August, TNK-BP launched fraud proceedings against Lazurenko in London, seeking recovery of his allegedly illicit receipt of funds. In June, Lazaurenko met with two of TNK-BP Management’s highest-ranking legal officers in London. He showed them two documents containing information that, as understood by all parties, “would be damaging to TNK-BP if disclosed because they purport to reveal high-level personnel engaging in corrupt behavior.” The documents at issue are said to contain commercially damaging information that would specifically impact Transneft and certain government officials. Lazurenko asserts, “The Documents contain the details of wrongdoing between TNK-BP and companies beneficially owned and controlled by the most senior officers of Transneft and officials of the Ministry of Energy responsible for regulating and monitoring the oil industry in Russia.” TNK-BP sought and in July 2012 obtained from an English court an injunction to prevent Lazurenko from disclosing the documents on the grounds of Russian trade secret law. Now the High Court found that Russian trade secret law does not cover the particular documents and in any case does not provide for injunctive relief.

http://www.rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20121016/265025011.html