Raids on the offices of European companies by machine-gun toting FSB henchmen make for frequent headlines.  Energy major BP was one of the companies to recently experience this lesser pleasure of operating a business in Russia, namely the moment when a volley of armed-to-the-teeth agents storm into the workspace and begin seizing paperwork.  Now it seems the shoe might be on the other foot. Since the beginning of the week, we have heard reports that the offices of Gazprom subsidiaries across ten EU countries have been raided on the orders of a European Commission competition probe.  Reuters reported today that the raids are suspected to be part of a long-term strategy to reduce Russian hegemony over EU gas supplies. Whilst Gazprom has downplayed any drama, pledging full compliance in the investigations, some analysts say that the world’s largest gas producer might yet have something to worry about.