Moscow - Russian tax officials have carried out raids on the the Austrian construction firm Strabag amid suspicions of tax evasion connected to two major building projects, the business newspaper Kommersant reported Wednesday.

According to the report, Strabag is suspected of having evaded some 108 million roubles' (3.6 million dollars) worth of taxes in booking transactions using bogus firms while building the Moskva hotel and a luxury apartment complex between 2004 and 2006.

Alexander Ortenberg, head of Strabag in Russia, confirmed that raids took place in four of the company's offices in Moscow and that documents with copies of contracts with subcontractors were confiscated.

Kommersant cited Ortenberg as saying that the police action was not directed against Strabag, but rather against several subcontractors.

But the paper said Russian tax authorities believe that the subcontractors only exist on paper and were set up to reduce Strabag's tax bill.

The raids follow on an initial tax audit of the compnay.

Strabag, with some 75,000 employees, is one of Europe's leading construction companies. The company currently has an estimated 3 billion euros (4.4 billion dollars) worth of orders on its books in Russia. (dpa)