Sergei Anatolievich Storchak (born 8 June 1954 in Olevsk

Olevsk

Olevsk is a city in Olevsk Raion, Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Olevsk Raion. The population was 10,896 ....

, Zhytomyr Oblast

Zhytomyr Oblast

Zhytomyr Oblast is an oblast of northern Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Zhytomyr.-History:The oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on September 22, 1937....

, Ukraine SSR) is a Deputy Finance Minister of Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. Storchak became one of Russia's three deputy finance ministers in November 2005. He specialized in international financial relations, and was a prominent figure in negotiations over paying off Soviet-era debt. He negotiated Russia's repayment of its debt to the Paris Club

Paris Club

The Paris Club is an informal group of financial officials from 19 of some of the world's biggest economies, which provides financial services such as war funding, debt restructuring, debt relief, and debt cancellation to indebted countries and their creditors...

 of creditor nations, which it completed last year. In April 2009, he was charged with attempted fraud and embezzlement of state funds.

Detention

On 15 November 2007, Storchak was detained by the Russian police as a part of a criminal investigation. "The detention took place outside the ministry. It may be related to criminal cases against a third party, not finance ministry officials," the ministry said in a statement. Prosecutors later confirmed the detention of Storchak and two businessmen on suspicion of "attempting large-scale embezzlement from the Russian state budget through fraud". In autumn 2009, he was released from custody and put on a travel ban.

Criminal investigation

In April 2009, Storchak was charged with attempted fraud, 18 months after his detention. "It may be said without exaggeration that the best finance and economy experts, including the incumbent and former finance minister deputies, were involved in a plan in recent years to embezzle large amounts of state funds," said Alexander Bastrykin

Alexander Bastrykin

Alexander Ivanovich Bastrykin is a Russian official, Former First Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia,and former Chairman of The Investigative Committee of the Prosecutor General's Office...

, the head of the Investigation Committee at the Prosecutor's Office. If convicted, Storchak faces between five and 10 years in prison.
On 31 January 2011, Russia's Investigative Committee announced that all charges had been dropped against Storchak, for lack of evidence.

Reactions

Some analysts have speculated that Storchak's case may be a sign of power struggle within the Kremlin between free-market liberals like Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin

Alexei Kudrin

Alexei Leonidovich Kudrin was the Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister of Russia from 18 May 2000 to 26 September 2011. After graduating with degrees in finance and economics, Kudrin worked in the administration of Saint Petersburg's liberal Mayor Anatoly Sobchak. In 1996 he started...

 and conservative elements favoring a greater role for the state in the economy.

External links

• Ministry of Finance of Russia Official website