Romania: Four charged with transferring data on gas fields to Russia

Authorities in Romania have opened a criminal investigation into suspected data leaks against four employees of the local branch of neighbouring Serbia's NIS Petrol, which is majority-owned by Russia's Gazprom Neft.

Organised crime prosecutors said that police raided the company's offices in the capital, Bucharest, and the western city of Timisoara, along with the employees' homes, as part of the inquiry, according to journalstar.com.

No other details were immediately released. The Belgrade-based NIS told The Associated Press in an emailed statement that the company "adheres to the existing legal rules of countries where it conducts business".

"The company has cooperated and will fully cooperate with all relevant institutions in order to clear all the aspects concerning the activities of the company and its employees in Romania," NIS said.