SWF Radar

The Moscow Times reports that, “A Moscow court denied bail Wednesday to Sergei Storchak, the deputy finance minister who has been held in pretrial detention on corruption charges since November. … Storchak himself appeared by video link from a holding cell in Lefortovo Prison. The judge ordered Storchak to remain in detention until July 9, upholding a decision in April to extend his pretrial detention while the preliminary investigation is completed. Prosecutors hope to compile their evidence by July.”

The article gives the background information that, “Storchak, who was Russia’s foreign debt negotiator and overseer of the $160 billion oil stabilization fund before his arrest, has been accused of attempting to embezzle $43 million from state budget funds. His arrest has been widely interpreted by analysts as an effort by sparring Kremlin cliques to put pressure on liberal Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Kudrin.”