Mar 10, 2005. /Lesprom Network/. Igirma-Tairiku, a lumber company with a reputation as the most successful Japanese-Russian joint venture, has come under the investigation of the Russian tax authorities and may face huge tax demands that could cost its survival, it was learned Friday. The company, based in the eastern Siberian Province of Irkutsk, has also been raised by police, according to informed sources. As a result of the inspection, the tax authorities may demand the company pay hefty back taxes, as they did with oil company Yukos, which was forced to split itself up, according to industry sources. Already, the country's Auditing Commission has put together a strong case against the joint venture. The commission, following its special inspections since last autumn, claims that the company paid out unfairly low dividends to the Federal Agency for Management of Federal Property, which holds 51 pct of the firm, and understated the prices of its exports to Japan, leading Russia to suffer a loss of 8.5 million dollars in 2003 alone. Because of these claims, the joint venture has been a target of threats and slanders from the local media and others. But Tairiku Trading Co., a Tokyo-based trading firm that owns 49 pct of the venture, has warned that the latest development is a well-planned attempt by a Russian oligarch to take over the company by teaming up with the authorities. The Japanese parent said none of the claims by the Auditing Commission is true. The Japanese embassy in Russia has asked Russia's relevant authorities to handle the issue in a fair manner. The case is the latest in a series of troubles involving Japanese companies expanding into Russia, including JTI Marketing & Sales, a unit of Japan Tobacco Inc. , which has received a demand from the tax authorities to pay hefty tax arrears. The growing number of spats has caused a bilateral intergovernmental committee on trade and economy to postpone its meeting. Igirma-Tairiku was established in 1987 and has a workforce of 1,500. It generates annual sales of 6 billion yen.